First Meetings aren't Always the First
by annadiel
Summary: Another run-in with the Demon Mirror and a wish that suddenly came out of Yuuri's mouth led him back to the past, when Conrad was not yet in the military. Will Yuuri be able to handle the past Conrart?
1. Not Again! Yuuri, Drawn into the Past

**Title: First Meetings aren't Always the First**

**Author: annadiel**

**Disclaimer: ****Kyou Kara Maou and all of its characters are not my property. The only thing I can call my own here is the story of this fic itself. And if you have read something similar to this, it's entirely coincidental.**

**Synopsis: Another run-in with the Demon Mirror and a wish that suddenly came out of Yuuri's mouth led him back to the past, when Conrad was not yet in the military. The two of them meet in a seemingly familiar fashion, but with a very headstrong Conrad. Will Yuuri be able to handle the stubbornness and pride that was Conrad? And will he be able to correctly pronounce 'Conrart'? Conrad-Yuuri friendship.**

Hey! This is **annadiel** once again, and here is a new fic. It's my first attempt at creating a Conrad and Yuuri-centric story, but I dare not tread the waters of a ConYuu fic yet, in fear of writing a very sloppy one. It's up to you to interpret what goes on in the story. This would probably be a two or three-chapter.

Spoilers? Maybe there are. I'm one who isn't affected by spoilers, so probably I wouldn't notice giving one. Sorry about that. (bows head)

As always, Yuuri, ever the naïve, adorable one, stumbles upon the Demon Mirror in his attempts to hide from Wolfram. Add Conrad into the mix, and our favorite Demon King gets a glimpse of the old lifestyle of his most trusted retainer.

Enjoy.

* * *

**I. Not Again! Yuuri, Drawn into the Past**

"You can't get away from me!"

A mad Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld rushed along the corridor, following a frantic clay-haired, onyx-eyed young man in search of some place to hide…

"Wait! Yuuri!"

…who happened to be the 27th Demon King of Shin Makoku.

Yuuri made a left turn at a T-junction he just passed. _And there goes my plan,_ Yuuri thought, _I should've known that Wolfram would follow—nah, more like stalk—my every move._

The young king wanted to have some time alone and have a short, unguarded walk in the part of the town nearest to the castle, and so to avoid guards (and talk to some ladies along the way), he planned to disguise himself. Heck, he even bought some peasant clothes during one of their trips (secretly, too, of course) to make his disguise more effective!

He decided what his look would be like for the day: the usual reddish-brown shade of hair, the same caramel-tinted contacts, a buckled top that was olive green in color, and a dark brown pair of pullovers. Unfortunately, as he finished dyeing his hair and was about to put on the contact lenses, Wolfram barged into his room and saw what he was doing. What followed was what was happening that moment.

And behind him, he still heard Wolfram's screams of 'wimp', 'traitor', 'cheater', 'kill', 'burn alive', and 'castrate', which were dangerously sounding nearer and nearer.

—0—

As Wolfram got nearer to Yuuri, the young king quickened up his pace if that was still possible, and turned right at another T-junction. Just in front of him was Conrad, who seemed about to enter a room. "Conrad!"

The soldier looked at the direction of the shout, and saw…someone unfamiliar. It did not take long though before it registered to him who that someone was. "Your Majesty. What are you doing and why do you look like that?"

"It's Yuuri, Nazukeoya! I'll explain later, so please help me hide!" Yuuri answered.

Conrad was curious as to why Yuuri wanted to hide so badly, until he heard Wolfram's shouts. He smiled, and opened the door to the room he was about to go to. "Quick, inside."

Yuuri hurriedly went inside the room after muttering a 'thank you' to Conrad. The soldier closed the door, locked it from the outside, took a couple of steps back, and started to look behind him just as Wolfram showed up.

Wolfram skidded to a halt as he approached Conrad. "Conrad, where's that traitorous wimp of a fiancé!"

Conrad smiled at his brother, who was currently panting because of all the running he did. "I just briefly saw him pass by as I was about to go to the storage room," he answered as he pointed to the locked room before them.

The blonde looked doubtful at Conrad. "You're not hiding him here, are you?"

"No," the older one immediately answered, "I just arrived here, and I have to run an errand for Gunter. Besides, it seemed like His Majesty didn't want to stop running, as if he were afraid of something."

Wolfram clenched his fist in front of Conrad, and angrily he said, "He better be! When I catch that cheater I would burn him into a crisp, chop his body into pieces, and feed him to the goalas until there's nothing left! Disguising again just to leave the castle and chat with women!" He started to run again. "Yuuri! You're toast!"

—0—

Yuuri could barely hear the discussion of the two brothers even if he was seated near the door. He felt relieved as Wolfram's voice sounded much farther. He looked around the room where Conrad hid him with the little light available._ The storage room, huh. I wonder what Conrad has to do here…_

Just then, he heard the door open. He turned his head to it, and saw Conrad entering. The soldier approached him and said, "I've managed to divert Wolfram's course for now. Please explain what happened, Your Majesty."

"I said it's Yuuri." The young king sighed. He then told Conrad everything he planned to do. Even though Conrad was amused, he still didn't think it was wise for Yuuri to go out alone. "Even though this is the capital," Conrad stated, "it is not perfectly safe. For you to go out alone is unthinkable. Please always consider your position as king before doing such kind of things. The castle is the safest place for you to be in."

"I know," Yuuri retorted, "That's why I'm bored. I can't go out by myself anywhere except the castle. And that's also why I want to see and explore the capital. You know me, Conrad. I won't be able to stand being cooped up in the castle for too long."

The soldier smiled. "Yes, I think I know you too well. Now, if you would please excuse me as I finish my errand from Gunter." He approached some of the cases to his right.

"Gunter asked you to do something? What is it?"

Conrad answered as he was shuffling from case to case, finding something. "Ah, yes. Gunter found a velvety blue box with very intricate and elegant designs around it in the treasury of the Kleist castle when he visited there once to check on his territory. He told me the size was perfect for the Demon Mirror. And since I'm not really busy today and no one else was around, he asked me to look for said item here."

"So what we're trying to find here is the Demon Mirror?" Yuuri stood up, went to the cases opposite Conrad and looked there. "Will it finally be moved to a better place?"

"I think so. Gunter has been cleaning that box to perfection for quite a while now. And it has been proven that the Demon Mirror has not yet lost its powers, since we have seen what it has done to you before. Therefore I think it's fair to line it up along with the other sacred treasures on display." Conrad went to a case to his left and searched there. "Here—I found it." He held the Demon Mirror with both his hands.

Yuuri went up in front of Conrad and looked at the item. "Finally." He looked up to Conrad and continued, "Say, Conrad, can I still continue with my plan for today? I really want to walk around town. You can come with me, since you said you're not very busy today."

Conrad hesitated at first, but eventually gave in after he saw the firm resolve in Yuuri's eyes (_…or was that just the "puppy eyes" technique?_).He sighed. "…Alright. But first, let me bring this to Gunter."

Yuuri smiled. "I really like how it's easy for me to convince you."

"Maybe you have great persuasive skills, seeing that you manage to convince everyone around you of your principles." Conrad then smiled at him and added, "Or maybe I've grown soft over the years. Did you know that I was harder to handle when I was young? I think that was more than sixty years ago…"

"Sixty years ago, huh. So that must be before you served in the military."

"Yes. I was very reckless and as stubborn as a mule when I was younger. I even cut classes and had some vices of my own."

"Really? Mules over here are also considered stubborn? And the old Conrad Weller was stubborn and reckless? That I would really want to see," said the young king, a big smile on his face.

Conrad chuckled. "I swear you wouldn't want that."

The two of them started to walk out of the storage room. But, as Yuuri's luck would have it, he tripped over Shinou-knows-what and as he fell, grabbed on to the nearest thing he could, which turned out to be Conrad's arm and the Demon Mirror. When his eyes caught sight of the treasure's surface, it was when he noticed it light up.

_Uh-oh, not this again_, was Yuuri's last thought before his consciousness was drawn into the Demon Mirror.

—0—

Conrad noticed Yuuri trip, and would have held the boy steady had his hands been free. It was a good thing Yuuri managed to grab onto him before he fell. "Your Majesty, are you—" he wasn't able to finish his inquiry when the Demon Mirror in his hands suddenly lit up, and its light went out as fast. Wondering what was that about, Conrad noticed that the load on his right arm became heavier. He looked at it, and saw Yuuri slowly falling to the ground. He immediately put the Demon Mirror on the case next to him and caught the double-black before he completely came in contact with the hard floor.

The soldier shook Yuuri, trying to wake him. "Your Majesty—Yuuri! Wake up, Yuuri!" It was then that he noticed the glassy look in Yuuri's eyes. _Don't tell me—_Conrad looked at the Demon Mirror. _It must have taken Yuuri's consciousness when it lit up a while ago. _Conrad lifted Yuuri up, placed the Demon Mirror on the king's chest, and darted out of the storage room directly into the king's quarters.

—0—

When Yuuri opened his eyes, he noticed that he was not in the castle anymore. He woke up in a narrow, dimly lit cobblestone passage, his back against an old style building of brick foundations and tiled roofs reminiscent of the structures he frequently saw around his kingdom. _That means I'm probably still in Shin Makoku. The problem is, what time am I in now? _

On one end was the main road, where he could hear lots of noises and merry-making. At the other end was darkness that extended as far as his eyes could see. _Probably a dead end,_ the king mused.

He looked at himself, seeing that he was still glowing green and semi-transparent. The red skies above him and the cool breeze that blew meant that it was almost evening. He decided to walk onto the main road, wander around wherever he was in and find a place to stay for the night. As soon as he stood up, however, he noticed three men approaching from behind him. The one on the left was bald and fat, with tanned skin, thick lips and a very low voice enough to scare people away; the one in the right was a redhead, had average physique, some scars on his arms and face, and sporting a goatee; and the one in the middle had long, dirty blond hair, was skinny but had some muscles fit in the right place, elongated face, and his voice was a little high-pitched for a guy. They looked like they were up to no good.

The young king somehow knew he had seen these guys before. He put on a sour look when he remembered. _Geh, it's the generic bully trio! Or their ancestors, or maybe their descendants… _ Thinking that he was still safe because of his temporary transparent state, he continued on walking away to the other side, and was already halfway until he heard one of them say, "Oya, what do we have here? A human?"

Yuuri continued on walking, pretending he did not hear anything. "Hey, where are you going? Wait up!" he heard another say, the footsteps behind him sounding faster. _They are not after me, they are not referring to me, _was Yuuri's thought, _they cannot see me, I'm—_he looked at himself, and saw that he had returned to being visible—_geh, apparently in trouble now!_

The main road almost in sight, the young king's walk became a sprint to the place before him and was about to exit the alley, but the skinny guy caught up to him and grabbed his left arm. Skinny pulled him toward the middle of the alley where his companions were waiting, probably to avoid the attention of the still bustling crowd out the open area.

"You shouldn't ignore people talking to you," Goatee said as the two got near them, "that's very rude, you know." Skinny pushed Yuuri to the wall and the three surrounded him, preventing him to escape.

"And what do you call dragging a person to an alley but wants to go somewhere else?" Yuuri retorted, "If someone's being rude, that's the three of you."

The three thugs looked at each other, and laughed. "Oya, oya, this kid's got a lot of guts!" Baldy said, "Pretty gutsy for a human wandering around Mazoku territory! And in the capital even!"

Skinny shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure this kid's Mazoku."

Baldy looked at Skinny doubtfully. "You sure? How can you tell?"

"Just look at him! He's too gorgeous for a human! And the color of his eyes and hair…definitely Mazoku. Eyes are like that of the Soukoku's, but the hair's plain."

"What do you want?" Yuuri asked angrily.

Goatee leaned nearer to the young king, their faces just inches away from each other which caused Yuuri to lean more on the wall, and answered, "Well kid, just at the end of this alley is the capital's district with the best night hangouts. You know, girls, booze, parties, food, that kind of stuff. We were just about to go there, but we're kinda short on money. So you'll give your money to us."

"What if I don't want to?" Yuuri said, glaring at the three. The truth was he only had a few amount with him. He didn't have to spend a single penny when he was within his country, so he only brought a few bucks with him around, if ever the need for it arose. Moreover, he was not sure if the currency he had with him would be accepted in this time, whatever this timeline was.

Skinny smirked, and took the dagger strapped at his back. "Then we'll make you give it to us!" He pointed the knife near Yuuri's throat.

Now Yuuri was really panicking. _The hell! I didn't see that a while ago! Then again I never saw his back…but this is turning bad!_ He was about to shout for help, but Baldy forcefully covered his mouth with his left hand, hitting his head a bit hard on the wall behind him in the process. "Oops, no calling for help, pretty boy." Goatee then began frisking him for money.

_Even though this is the capital…such things still happen,_ Yuuri thought, as he closed his eyes tightly, _Conrad was right…_

_Conrad…someone, anyone! Help, help me…!_

Goatee found his wallet at last. "Heh, looks like we can have fun after all." He was only able to open it slightly until a voice interrupted them.

"Now, look who's here!"

Yuuri opened his eyes when he heard the voice. _That voice! I know that voice!_ Sure enough, when he turned his head, he saw the orange-haired spy he was expecting to see, walking slowly toward them. _Yozak!_

"Mh-mhp! Mmhp!" Yuuri tried to call out, looking with worry at Yozak, who stopped just a couple of meters away.

Goatee approached Yozak slowly, Yuuri's wallet in hand. "Well, this kid here stole my wallet, so we chased him 'ere."

"That's not what it looks like to me." Yozak disagreed, looking at the situation before him and pointing behind Goatee. "Your friends' got a weapon in front of the boy."

"Tch. Forgot about that." Goatee signaled to Skinny, and the latter lunged at Yozak, dagger aimed. However, Yozak anticipated the attack and was able to grab Skinny's arm. He did a chop on Skinny's wrist, making him drop the dagger, and punched him in the face, with enough force to send him tumbling on Goatee. He caught the dagger before it fell to the ground. "The tables have turned. Let the kid go, and give him back his wallet."

"Damn." Goatee was pissed off. This guy before him was fast, and Skinny was undoubtedly the fastest of them three. He also had some strength that might match even that of Baldy's. "…Fine. Hey," he called to Baldy. Baldy reluctantly let go of Yuuri, who let out some air, glad that he could finally breathe better. Goatee threw Yuuri's wallet back to its owner. They started to walk briskly out of the alley. When Goatee passed Yozak he snarled. "…we won't forget this…"

As Yuuri picked up his wallet, he noticed Yozak approach him. He got a better look at the spy, and noticed that he was a bit leaner than he remembered. He also looked younger; fine complexion, no visible scars, eyes full of boredom and mischief.

"You shouldn't be wandering around here, boyo. This is the dirtiest part of the capital, and not just on the looks. Who're you, and what are you doing here, anyway?" he heard Yozak ask him.

_Boyo? If I remember it right, he prefers to call me 'bocchan'._ "Wait, you don't know who I am?" Yuuri suddenly asked. _Even if I'm in disguise, the light's already faded enough not to distinguish the colors…_

Yozak was a bit surprised by the question, and shook his head. "Are you famous enough for me to know you?"

Yuuri laughed. "Ehehe, no, not really." _Must be the past…Yozak __**does**__ look young._ "Er…thank you."

"The name's Yozak. Just get out of here already and go home, boyo." Just when Yozak said that, they heard footsteps coming from the road side of the alley. When they looked at the one making them, they saw a tall, young man with brown hair of shoulder length and chocolate-colored eyes. Yozak smiled at the man, while Yuuri was very surprised.

"Conrart!" "Conrad!"

Yuuri and Yozak looked at each other, while the man addressed as Conrart looked at the young king and said, "Yozak. Who's the boy?"

—0—

Yuuri lied on his bed, totally unconscious. Gunter and Gwendal were standing near the windows, Wolfram was seated near Yuuri's feet on the bed, and Conrad was beside it, seated on a chair facing the bed and Yuuri. The Demon Mirror was placed on a dresser to the left of Conrad.

"This is your fault, Conrad!" Wolfram suddenly shouted. "You shouldn't have brought him there! You shouldn't have lied to me in the first place!"

Conrad could only bow his head and look at Yuuri with shame. He knew Wolfram was right. He shouldn't have brought Yuuri there, for even a slight surge of the king's maryoku touching the Demon Mirror would trigger its effect.

Gunter sighed. "Now, now, Wolfram. I'm sure Conrad had his reasons for bringing His Majesty along. Weren't you chasing His Majesty around again and accusing him of cheating?"

"Wha—now it's MY fault? Yuuri was trying to sneak out of the castle!" Wolfram defended himself. "I was just trying to stop him! …And yes, calling him a cheater and a wimp…but it's true anyway!"

"For Shinou's sake, stop yelling already," a disgruntled Gwendal said, another crease on his forehead appearing. "If this was just like the first time, then we should just wait for the effect to wear off. No need to accuse anyone of anything," he said firmly, looking at his youngest brother. Wolfram merely looked away, irritated.

"I agree." A new voice added. The four in the room looked at the door that just opened, and saw Murata. The sage walked toward the bed and looked at Yuuri's prone form. "I heard what happened. There's really nothing we can do but wait."

"Will Yuuri be alright?" asked Wolfram.

Murata nodded. "I guess. Although one problem would be the time his consciousness is currently in, and whose life he is seeing."

All present looked at him. "May I inquire why, Your Highness?" Gunter asked.

"If it was a time when dangers lurked about every corner, then he's in a bad situation. If ever he were hurt, then it may reflect on his current body once his consciousness returns," answered Murata.

Gunter gasped. "B-but how is that possible? Doesn't the Demon Mirror only show the user his past or future?"

"If it were just like that, then there's no need to take the user's consciousness," replied Murata. "The traveler's consciousness is turned by the mirror into a physical body. That way, he can interact with anyone in that particular time. He can see, smell, feel, taste, and hear everything happening there. Moreover, even though his consciousness is in a different timeline, it is still deeply connected to his body."

This information surprised the four. Conrad lowered his head even more, worry etched on his face and fists clenched on his knees. _If anything happens to Yuuri, I will never forgive myself…_

The sage looked at Conrad. "Lord Weller." The soldier turned his head to Murata.

"I need to confirm something," Murata stated. Conrad just nodded. "At the time when Yuuri's consciousness was taken by the Demon Mirror, was he the only one holding it?"

The brunette recalled the events a while ago. The moment he remembered, a realization struck him. He looked worriedly at Murata.

Murata nodded. "It seems that he wasn't the only one holding it, ne, Lord Weller?"

"No," answered Conrad. "At that time, we were about to leave the storage room. I was the one holding the Demon Mirror. His Majesty just managed to trip on something, and he grabbed my arm for support. His right hand, however, grasped the Demon Mirror. That was when I noticed it light up. Your Highness, does that mean…?"

Gunter and Gwendal, after hearing Conrad's statement, had a look of surprise on their faces. Wolfram harrumphed, not noticing the importance of the situation. "And so? What's the problem about that?"

"Wolfram, the Demon Mirror shows the past or the future of the person holding it," answered Gunter. "True, its powers can only be activated by the Maou, but it was never restricted that only the Maou can hold it."

Suddenly everything became clear to the blond. "Then Yuuri is seeing Conrad's life?"

"That seems to be the case," the sage said. "The mirror may even draw in the consciousness of any other person holding and peering into it once it has been activated. The only reason Lord Weller is still here is that he didn't look on the mirror's surface."

Conrad nodded to that. "Your Highness, it would be dangerous if he ended up to where I was twenty years ago."

"The peak of the war." Gwendal stated. "Twenty years ago, your troop was sent to Ruttenberg."

"We should just hope he's not there. Can you remember anything else, any clue as to what time Shibuya may have fallen into, Lord Weller?" Murata asked.

The soldier in question thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I believe there is none. We were just talking before that…wait, when we were talking, I kind of brought up my younger days, when I was still in the military academy. He said he would really want to see how I was then."

Murata clasped his hands and smiled. "That's it! That's where Shibuya is. If it was that far into the past, then there's no huge strife yet occurring around. And he may have the young Conrad as company. Not too bad." He looked at everyone in the room, hoping to see everyone relaxed, but got the opposite. He noticed that they still had worried expressions on their faces, including even Conrad. "Oh, is something wrong?"

"Yes, Your Highness," answered Gunter. "You see, the past Conrad was very, and I mean _very_, different from the present. I am really not assured he's going to be in perfectly safe company."

Conrad sighed. "I'm afraid I have to agree to that."

Gwendal sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Given these new complications, let me take back what I said a while ago. Conrad, you hold responsibility for His Majesty's condition. Now please excuse me, I have a lot more tasks to do." He left the room after giving a slight bow to Murata.

And somewhere to Conrad's right, he could feel Wolfram's fiery gaze at him. His younger brother would probably be ready to murder him if something happened to Yuuri, especially if _something_ happened between the younger him and Yuuri.

—0—

_Conrad's staring at me, he's staring at me! _Yuuri thought, worriedly.

It was true. The man addressed by Yozak as 'Conrart' was staring at the young king, albeit suspiciously. Silence reigned for quite a while.

It was Yozak who broke the silence. "Boyo, you know Conrart?"

"Eh?" Yuuri looked confused. _What do I say? What do I say?_

Conrart walked nearer to the two, and said, "I don't think so, Yozak. It's the first time I've seen this guy around here. And he called me 'Conrad'."

"So? Some people call you that way."

Conrart stopped inches in front of Yuuri and smiled at him. "Well, not for long." Yuuri gulped. There was something on that smile that seemed…devious. "Ne, boyo, you sure you know me?"

The young king hurriedly shook his head. "N-no, I don't think so. Although I do know a Conrad…"

"Oh? And what's he like?"

"W-well, he looks a lot like you…but he's older, and his hair's shorter." Yuuri managed to say. "S-sorry if I mistook you for him…" _even if you're __**actually**__ him something years from now. _

Yozak pulled Yuuri away from Conrart. "Hey, hey, don't scare him. I just rescued him from some punks a while ago."

Yuuri let out a breath of relief. The Conrad of this time looked intimidating and doubtful. He was different than the Conrad he knew.

"Anyway," said Conrart, "let's go. I want to have some drinks before Sir von Kleist realizes I've left the premises again."

"And that's what we're here for," added Yozak. "You better go home, boyo." The two started to walk away.

Yuuri stood there for a while, looking at the retreating forms of the two before him. He wanted to go with them, since technically they were the only ones he knew there. And he wouldn't want what happened a while ago to happen again. "Wait!"

Conrart and Yozak stopped and looked behind them as the boy ran toward them. "I told you to go home already, boyo!" shouted Yozak.

Yuuri halted in front of them. "Well, sorry then! My home isn't anywhere near here! And stop calling me boyo! I'm already sixteen!"

Conrart and Yozak looked at each other, confusion etched on their faces. Then Yozak asked, "Then what's your name? Where are you from?"

"Eh? Ah…well, my name is…I'm…" _Come on, Yuuri, think! Can't use real name! What other moniker do I have, besides Harajuku Furi...Oh, that one! _"…Mitsuzaemon! Yeah, that's me. My name is Mitsuzaemon. I'm from Echigo, in…the south. The truth is I left our home. Life there was thriving, and my father told me about Shin Makoku. I wanted to try my luck, so I got on a ship and landed here. I managed to get to the capital by boarding a caravan, but now that I'm here, I don't know where to go."

"Echigo? Sounds far away…and fake." Yozak said, now looking at Yuuri warily. Yuuri froze. _If they don't buy that, I'm dead._

Conrart shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken, there is indeed a town called Echigo in the lower Nurunurunotaki region, on the southernmost part of the map."

Yozak was amazed. "Really? I didn't know that."

Even Yuuri was surprised. _So Echigo is really a place. Good thing Conrad knew that one._

Conrart continued. "If I remember correctly, my father said it was a poor place. He mentioned that he wanted to go there, but wasn't able to because he was already too old to travel far away, and he shortly died after. Something bothers me, though, Mitsuzaemon." He then stared, intensely, at Yuuri. "Are you really Mitsuzaemon from Echigo, as you say you are?"

"W-why do you ask?" Yuuri said nervously.

"One," Conrart stated, "Nurunurunotaki region is human territory, and you say you are from there. Yet the color of your eyes and hair are definitely Mazoku. Your eyes are even black, the revered color of the Soukoku. So we are sure you're Mazoku. Two, you say you're sixteen. Assuming you're Mazoku, why do you look…sixteen? A Mazoku your age would probably look like ten or twelve human years. Three, why would someone from Echigo give his son an idea to go to Shin Makoku? I only know one reason that will answer everything I said, so I hope you reach the same idea. Explain."

"Ah, ehehe…well…" _Great, I managed to arouse more suspicion. What reason is Conrad talking about? Here goes nothing…_ "O-of course my father knows about Shin Makoku, and of course I look like this, it's because he's Mazoku. And probably the reason I look like my age is because of my human blood, which is from my mother." Yuuri explained, looking straightly at the two. _It wasn't really a lie, anyway._

"Then, you're half-human?" Yozak asked. Yuuri nodded, trying hard to have an expression that looked like 'sorry-for-being-one'. The orange-haired spy-to-be glanced at Conrart, wondering if he heard the boy correctly, and the brunette nodded at him.

Conrart once again stared at the young king, and smiled. _That smile,_ Yuuri thought, _just now it looked like the smile Conrad always wears._ Then Conrart spoke. "No one in his right mind would openly tell someone of his human heritage in a Mazoku country. But I'm glad you told the truth. Come on."

Yozak draped an arm over Yuuri's shoulders. "Good thing it was us you told that to. Welcome to Shin Makoku, Mitsuzaemon."

Yuuri, after hearing this, smiled widely. "Thank you! Yozak-san and Conra…rt-san."

With that, the three started to walk to the busy streets of the capital. Yuuri stayed behind the two as they were walking, the two older men chatting about the day's events. He glanced at Conrad. _Looks like I just got my wish._

* * *

Was my use of 'Conrad' and 'Conrart' in the past world confusing? I hope you noticed that 'Conrad' only appears in Yuuri's thoughts, or if that paragraph has more to do with Yuuri's actions. I think I'll be sticking with 'Conrart' for the next chapter, since most of it will be on the past.

Please do review this work and tell me what you think about it! Sans the flames, however.

Any ideas you want to share, folks? Do you have something in mind that the three may do in the past? Suggestions are very much welcome, but please send them through PM and not reviews.

Next chapter: Yuuri would never in his life forget what is about to happen that night with Conrart and Yozak. And what he thought would just be a single night in the past turned out longer than he expected.


	2. Nightlife! Yuuri, Ales, Bathhouses and

**Title: First Meetings aren't Always the First**

**Author: annadiel**

**Disclaimer: ****Kyou Kara Maou and all of its characters are not my property. The only thing I can call my own here is the story of this fic itself. And if you have read something similar to this, it's entirely coincidental.**

**Synopsis: Another run-in with the Demon Mirror and a wish that suddenly came out of Yuuri's mouth led him back to the past, when Conrad was not yet in the military. The two of them meet in a seemingly familiar fashion, but with a very headstrong Conrad. Will Yuuri be able to handle the stubbornness and pride that was Conrad? And will he be able to correctly pronounce 'Conrart'? Conrad-Yuuri friendship.**

Hello! First of all, Happy Holidays! Here we are in the second chapter. Sorry for the slow update.

Change made in the first chapter: I reduced the 80 years to 60+, since if it was 80 years ago and Conrad was already in the military academy, then Wolfram would just be two years old then, which I think would have been in conflict with other episodes where we see them together as kids.

**(PLEASE READ!)** For this chapter, young Conrad will be referred to as 'Conrart' except in Yuuri's thoughts, for of course, he has known Conrad as 'Conrad' for a long time already. He just needs to call Conrad 'Conrart' for the time being, to avoid being smiled at deviously and whatever comes after that. Yuuri will be referred to as 'Yuuri' unless someone in the past talks to or thinks about him and needs to call him by name, which is 'Mitsuzaemon'. If this becomes confusing, please inform me and I will change it ASAP.

Ah, we last left Yuuri (AKA Mitsuzaemon), Conrart, and Yozak walking toward the capital's busy night hang-outs. And when we talk about hanging out at night…surely, we all have an idea of what the older two are going to do there. Hehehe…

* * *

**II. ****Nightlife! Yuuri, Ales, Bathhouses and…Purists?**

Yuuri stayed behind the two older men, drowning out their conversation. He noted any visible differences he could pinpoint between them and their present counterparts.

Yozak, as the young king had noticed a while ago, was leaner, a bit paler, and had clear blue eyes lined with more innocence than he remembered the spy having. In this time, he found the young Yozak more approachable and friendly. There was still that air of mischief around him, though, that, as far as Yuuri knew, didn't change a bit as he got older.

Conrad—or Conrart as he was still used to being called—was definitely different from the Conrad of the present. This Conrad had longer hair that ran down his nape. His complexion was still darker than Yozak's, although it was still lighter than the present Conrad's complexion. His right eyebrow was still undamaged; the cut that ran across it which he got—or would be getting—from the battle at Ruttenberg wasn't there yet. And those were just the physical differences. If there was one thing Yuuri immediately noticed that was really different, it had to be that.

This Conrad didn't smile.

True, while talking with Yozak, the young king saw a grin or two on the brunette's face, but it was different from the smile that the Conrad of his time always gave him. This smile lacked sincerity. It lacked sympathy.

"So, Mitsuzaemon," Yozak suddenly addressed him.

It took almost ten seconds for Yuuri to realize he was being called and looked up at Yozak. "—Uh, yes?" _Yuuri, right now you're Mitsuzaemon, remember that!_

If Yozak noticed the delay in the young king's response, he didn't point it out and just continued on what he was saying. "Now that you're here in Shin Makoku, what do you plan on doing?"

"Um, I really haven't thought about that. Well, at least for tonight, I hope to find a place to sleep in," replied Yuuri. "_Ano_, thank you for letting me go with you. You've just met me a while ago, but you're being really kind."

Yozak chuckled. "Haha, you don't have to thank us. It just happened to be like this. We're birds of the same feather, as they say."

_Birds of the same feather, _thought Yuuri, _of course._ "So the two of you are also..." the king mumbled, trying to look surprised.

"Half-breeds, yes. That's what they call us," said Conrart, face painted with disapproval. He looked as if the mere mention of the term 'half-breed' left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. "Born of both Mazoku and human, and considered a living sin anywhere they are."

Yuuri could say nothing to that. He could just grimace at this fact. Although the times had changed since his arrival, this still held true even in the present. Some still considered the love between a Mazoku and a human impure and shameful. And their offspring are often neglected, as was he saw that time he spent in Svelera .

It became one of his missions as king of Shin Makoku to change this. And, as far as he could see, with the help of the self-proclaimed Ambassador of Free Love Cheri-sama, this old perception was slowly being erased.

But this was the past. Here in the past, he could do nothing.

Yozak frowned and bowed his head slightly at Conrart's statement. He then returned his focus on Yuuri. "You must have it rough, in Echigo, haven't you?" He received no answer as Yuuri was still in deep thought, sadness apparent in his features. Yozak mistook his expression as a 'yes' to his question, though. He followed up, maybe in a way to alleviate the young one's feelings, "Don't worry, here in Shin Makoku, the Maou and some of the royalty don't think badly of us. In a way, we have liberty to do things, just as long as we pledge ourselves to Shin Makoku. Conrart here is a testament to that, since he is the second son of the Maou."

"You didn't have to say that," Conrart said.

"...I know that," came Yuuri's reply, not really thinking of what he just said.

Conrart stopped and looked at Yuuri, eyes filled with new suspicion. "You _know_ I'm part of the royalty?"

"What-?" Yuuri also stopped in his tracks. It just registered to him what he replied a while ago. _Oh no! I was too occupied that I just replied automatically!_ "No! What I meant was, I know the feeling of being a half-human. And—what? You're a son of the Maou?" Yuuri shouted, feigning surprise.

_Talk about late reactions,_ was Yozak's thought.

Conrart thought differently. There was something...unusual, about this young man, that he was sure.

"...Anyway," Yozak continued, "you really have almost nothing to worry about. But prejudice on half-humans is also present here in the capital, so just be careful." He turned to Conrart. "By the way, Conrart, have you heard the news?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I heard. Happened to eavesdrop on the conversation between Lord von Kleist and Lord von Radford when he dropped by the academy. Several people, all pure Mazoku, and some trained soldiers, have formed a group of purists. They intend to drive out all half-breeds from the capital. Speculations are, they have built their own base somewhere outside the capital, and some are still within these walls. The last time I talked with Mother when she visited, she told me that the search for these people and their base are on the way."

Yozak snorted. "They needn't search far away. I just encountered some of them two days ago, just on the outskirts of the capital near the path to the sea, bullying Davis and telling him and 'his kind' to disappear. They looked more like thieves, really, with maroon kerchiefs covering the bottom half of their faces and clothes tinted with gray. But what can we do? We're not yet full-fledged soldiers, Conrart. The use of sword outside the academy is forbidden."

"And so? This matter is important, especially to us. We must do what we should. Tell me the details of that encounter," Conrart stated, "well, while we're drinking. We're almost there, aren't we?" His close friend nodded.

As they walked, Yuuri was preoccupied with his own thoughts. _Sounds pretty serious, the stuff they're talking about. Purists? How do they expect to drive out the half-humans, when even the second son of the Maou is one? ...Anyway, I wonder where these two are going. Conrad said something about 'having a drink' before going back...and if I'm right, those three generic bullies also mentioned something like that...wait...does that mean...!_ The young king wore a surprised look. _Conrad also did the "girls, booze, parties, food, that kind of stuff" stuff? _As Yuuri stared at Conrart, thoughts of the young soldier-in-training surrounded by women and holding a mug of beer on one hand and roasted meat on the other, face flushed, eyes slit and lips curved into a manic smile due to drunkenness, invaded his mind. He frantically shook his head. _No! Conrad's not like that! ...Or is he?_

This action caught Conrart's attention, and he glanced at Yuuri. "Mitsuzaemon? Is there any problem?"

Yuuri shook his head. "No, I was just thinking about some things." He ended with a smile.

Conrart raised a brow. "Okay." They had walked for a distance, until Conrart came to a halt, looked like he had thought of something brilliant, and whispered something to Yozak, the latter glancing at Yuuri and grinning at the same time.

The young king felt like he wanted to sulk away and hide. _What are they talking about? Why are they looking at me? Wah, they look like perverts, whispering to each other like that..._

Yozak then spoke. "You're sixteen, right, Mitsuzaemon?" Yuuri nodded. "Perfect! Since we're all adults here, and you're here in Shin Makoku, we have to do something about that. Come here!" He grabbed Yuuri's arm and began dragging him toward an innocently-looking lodge.

"Wa-wait!" Yuuri protested. "Where are you taking me? What do you mean 'we have to do something about that'?"

Yozak snickered. "You'll see."

And when Yuuri saw the sign attached above the lodge's doorway, he froze. There carved on the wooden sign was an image of a bearbee, smiling happily as its limbs wound around a large mug of a frothy drink. Below it were the following words:

_**The BearBee Tavern – Serves the finest ale in Shin Makoku!**_

—0—

The BearBee Tavern was a lively place. As one entered, the first things he would notice were the bright lights brought about by the black steel chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the small flickers of flame from the candles around. The bar was on the left, with the shelves filled with different kinds of alcoholic beverages, and some kegs of ale beside the shelves. Round wooden tables crowded the floor, with rowdy and rambunctious men seated around them, some accompanied by women, singing, merry-making, drinking and eating to their hearts' content.

But that was not wherein Yuuri's problem lied. His problem was the two men with him, who were currently staring at him and anticipating his movement, and the mug placed just inches away from his reach.

And why a bearbee was the sign of the tavern really bugged him. Weren't bearbees the ultimate epitome of cuteness in this world? Why, did bearbees drink ale and party all night long, as these people did? Did they also get drunk, and mutter garbled 'nogisu' when they fly home in a zigzag pattern?

The young king stared at the large wooden mug in front of him, filled to the brim with a bubbly, sour-smelling beverage. _And then this…*sigh*._

"Finest ale in the capital," Yozak said, after noticing Yuuri's scrutinizing and confused look at the mug placed before him. "...Well, they all say it is. The BearBee Tavern is pretty known around here for their satisfying drinks and tasty meals. Don't worry; we frequent this place, so we at least give our thumbs up for it." He gave the young king a wink.

Yuuri laughed half-heartedly. _Conrad and Yozak – certified party people. _"Well...but I don't drink..."

"Nonsense," exclaimed Conrart. "Everyone drinks, be it Mazoku or human; even animals and plants drink."

"...I didn't mean the 'normal drink' drink, but the other one. I don't drink alcoholic drinks. Besides, why are you forcing me to drink? Won't you at least tell me first what's going on here?"

The two older men looked at Yuuri for a moment. The brunette then sighed. "You're persistent, Mitsuzaemon."

"Well, we did force him to come here," commented the orange-haired spy-to-be. "Say, Mitsuzaemon," he continued, now focusing on Yuuri, "from now on you'll be living here in Shin Makoku, right?"

Yuuri gave a hesitant nod.

"You see, here in Shin Makoku, there is a custom that one comes of age when he or she turns sixteen," continued Yozak, "When one 'comes of age', he or she chooses a path to take, and follows that path from when the vow took place until death. Usually, there is a witness or two present during this sort-of oath-taking stuff."

"And now that you're here, you have to declare your oath, with us as your witnesses," added Conrart.

"...So, this is my oath-taking ceremony?" the young king asked, dumbfounded.

Yozak grinned. "Yup, yup! And to top it all off, you need to chug this mug of ale down."

_Whoa,_ thought Yuuri, _I thought one's oath-taking was done in the Shinou Temple! And they want me to drink this mug of ale? They're kidding. They're absolutely kidding, making a fool out of me. Gunter would be grieved if he finds out that his precious Maou got wasted in his coming-of-age ceremony..._

_...B__ut supposedly, I don't know anything about this, since I'm a 'newbie' in Shin Makoku. Then let's play it out._ "...Fine. So? What do I have to do? Just think of what I want to do like one does a wish on his birthday party, then drink the ale?"

The two had looks of success on their faces.

"No, no," answered Conrart, "Take the mug, raise it, tell us your oath, _then_ drink the ale. What's the use of having us as witnesses if you don't recite your oath?"

Yuuri sighed. "Fine! I understand!" He grabbed the mug and raised it. He closed his eyes, planning on reciting his original oath, but tweaking it a bit to fit the current situation. "I, Shi—un, Mitsuzaemon, as the ki—uh, as a new citizen of Shin Makoku, pledge to live the rest of my life serving this country and see to its continuous glory, but also pledge never to forget my human roots, and let what I experienced as a human and what I am about to experience as a Mazoku help me in every circumstance I find myself in." He opened his eyes to see if what he said was okay, only to see Conrart and Yozak looking kind of astounded. "Um, guys? Did I say something wrong?"

It was Conrart who first recovered from his shock. He grinned. "You've got a lot of guts to say that. I like it."

"Experiences as a human and as a Mazoku, huh?" said Yozak, "Most half-humans here tend to forget their human side, trying very hard to get on the good side of the Mazoku race. But yet you...as Conrart said, pretty gutsy. Let's see you fulfil that oath until death! Now, chug—it—down!"

Upon hearing that, Yuuri steeled his mind (and stomach), and began drinking the ale. _Sour and bitter. _ He brought the mug down when he finished drinking its contents.

The two men were obviously delighted. "Great!" said Yozak. "Now that that's done, we have to celebrate! Waiter! Three more mugs of ale down here, some popped peas, and a large plate of flaked roasted princefrogs!"

"Don't forget three sporks," added Conrart.

_There's gonna be more? _Yuuri hung his head in defeat. This would be a very long night.

—0—

Yuuri groaned.

Five mugfulls. Five mugfulls of ale, and he was becoming dizzy. The flaked princefrogs were delicious, so were the popped peas, but he would've opted for a can of juice or a light champagne instead.

But no, these two insisted he drink ale. He couldn't refuse. Conrart was paying, after all. And it was the brunette who urged him to drink more, filling his mug again once he noticed it was empty, and always following with 'I'm paying for that, so don't even leave a drop.' _Conrad, you bully!_

As dizziness slowly conquered him, he could only understand bits of whatever Conrart and Yozak were talking about. Something about the purists. Something about a deserted mansion. Something about the sea, and high, sharp cliffs. Something about 'keeping it secret'.

He might have heard it wrong, but he heard Conrart talk about a short duel between him and a Lord von Kleist. He must have meant Gunter.

And everything that followed was a blur. He was definitely drunk. Well, not that he would admit it.

—0—

"…Bottomline is, you got floored," Yozak teased Conrart after he took a sip of ale. "And you were so proud of your skills that night. We were even talking about it before separating. Whoever this Lord von Kleist is, you must have underestimated him. He's the royal military academy's instructor, after all."

Conrart frowned and slammed the mug he was holding on the table, making it contents spill a bit. "It was just one round. He was just lucky that he managed to rid me of my sword. I would've wanted to continue it, but he stopped me; told me that in my present state, I did not have a chance of winning against him."

"And that obviously ticked you off. Haha, well done, my friend," said Yozak sarcastically as he patted Conrart's back; no doubt a mocking gesture of support, or pity. The latter glared at Yozak, and afterwards his gaze went down; eyes not really seeing what were in front of them.

"That wasn't all," Conrart continued. He paused for a moment then said, "He asked me, 'What is your sword fighting for?' He knows my answer: to prove the worth of half-humans, to fight for our existence, even if it costs me my life."

If the orange-haired was grinning before, it disappeared once his friend said that line. "…Yeah. That's what our kind wants to prove. Our worth."

Silence reigned for a minute, probably in order to ponder on those words. They, as well as other half-humans who were currently staying in Shin Makoku, were there and doing what they believed would garner the Mazoku race's trust and confidence in them. That they weren't just nobodies or disposables. The word 'worth', for them, meant a great deal. They were ready to offer, or even take, life, just to achieve this 'worth'.

Then the brunette spoke. "…But, he doesn't believe that that is my answer. It seemed like he doesn't _want_ that to be my answer. He doesn't know the first thing about us half-humans anyway. He's terribly mistaken if he thinks he knows me well." He chewed a couple of peas and drank the ale up until the last drop. Once he brought the mug down, he had a bitter expression on his face; if it was because of the ale's taste or their topic, Yozak wasn't sure.

Conrart was about to ask for a refill when he saw the state of their third companion. He and Yozak were so caught up in their conversation that he almost forgot about their new friend.

Yuuri's face was red, and his half-opened eyes looked dull. His back was hunched a bit forward, his head a bit tilted to the right, looking as if he was about to tumble any minute now. No doubt about it; this boy was smashed. Good thing he didn't belong to the boisterous type of drunks; he wouldn't know what to do to shut a babbling youth up. Seeing the youth's condition instantly made the heavy atmosphere surrounding him disappear, though. Why, he wasn't sure.

Still, Conrart felt the need to ask the redhead if he was fine. "Mitsuzaemon? Feeling ill?"

Yuuri lifted his gaze to the asker with a lot of effort. He smiled goofily at Conrart. "Whaaat? Don' worry! Ahm purrf'ctly feyn…juzalittledizzyisall…" came his slurred reply. His head drooped once more, now on the table.

For some reason, Conrart wanted to laugh at Yuuri. He wanted to say, 'Drunk already? We're just getting started!' But he stopped himself; the young man probably wasn't used to drinking, he did say a while ago that he didn't drink. Beside him however, he heard Yozak laugh and say "What Mitsuzaemon, drunk already? Kids and their alcohol tolerance…" Ah, trust Yozak to act out whatever the brunette refrained himself from doing.

The soldier-in-training gazed outside; it was already dark. He nudged at Yozak. "I think we should go back now."

"Eh? Now?" Yozak was disappointed; neither him nor Conrart were full yet. But his friend had a point; they still had Yuuri with them. "All right. But first, we should sober the kid up. I know a cozy bathhouse just two blocks away; a hot bath should do him fine."

The two stood up, helped Yuuri lift himself up, paid their bill and exited the tavern.

Unbeknownst to them, however, were five men in the tavern, cleverly mixed among the noisy customers, watching them as they left. "That orange-haired fellow was the one from two days ago…" one said. "And that brown-haired _nii-chan_, isn't he one of the…?"

Another nodded. "Yeah. This is just great. Maybe we can use them?"

"Maybe. Let's follow them."

And so they did.

—0—

The next thing that Yuuri became aware of was that they were already outside, walking on the busy streets once again, Yozak leading them, and Conrart supporting him as they walked. He also noticed that the sky was already black, with a few groups of stars giving off a little light. "Hey," dull eyes glanced at the brunette, who had an arm circled around the young king's back, hand just under his left arm to prop him up steadily. "Wh…where are we going now?"

"Bathhouse," Conrart answered. "You look like shit."

"Hehehe," laughed Yuuri. "I probably smell like one, too." If Yuuri's mind were clearer that moment, he would've noticed that Conrart just swore. And at him even.

Yozak stopped in front of a small two-storey building, the lower floor a much wider one, which was surrounded by high wooden fences. The entrance was a sliding door made of wood. "Here we are. The open air hot bath is at the far back. Come on." He slid the door open for the two.

As he and Conrart entered, Yuuri was kind of surprised to find a bathhouse in this part of the capital. The door even looked like traditional Japanese doors. _Well, I obviously need to take a bath. My head's starting to ache. I swear I'll never drink ale for the next half year…_

Yozak approached the old lady in the counter. "Good evening, Rochelia-_baachan_!"

The old lady, Rochelia, smiled at him. "Oh, Yozak! Back again?"

The orange-haired spy-to-be asked for three bath robes and towels. Rochelia gave them, and told them that the soap and shampoo were available on the shelves before the pool. Yozak paid and thanked the old lady then proceeded to the back, Conrart and Yuuri following.

Once they were at the back, Yuuri had Conrart let go of him, saying that he was feeling better. He looked at the bath, which was a manmade pool surrounded with smooth rocks, with the hot water flowing from inside the building through a wide pipe. No one was there except the three of them. They removed their shoes and placed them in the shelves.

As the two older men began to remove their clothes, Yozak turned to Yuuri and noticed he hadn't done so yet. "Hey, we're getting in the bath, take your clothes off," he said.

"Oh, right," Yuuri replied, smiling sheepishly and scratching his head, which was beginning to itch, anyway. _Might as well bathe, _he thought, _to sober up. I think I need to wash my hair, my scalp is really becoming itchy!_ He continued on scratching his head. _Must be because of the hair dye—_

The mere thought of the words 'hair dye' instantly sobered him up. The hair dye he used was a washable one that once he finished his supposed walk around town, just one bath and his hair would be back to black. That meant that if he went into the bath now, the dye would wash off. His black hair would be visible, and paired with his black eyes...well, he wasn't sure what that would exactly mean in this timeline, but there sure was trouble with it. Drunkenness forgotten, he said, hardly keeping his distress hidden, "Ah, well, I guess I really don't want to take a bath right now. Maybe later or tomorrow...ehehe..."

Yozak frowned at this, and reminded the young king that he already paid for the three of them. "Besides," the spy-to-be added, "it's you who needs to take a bath right now, not us."

"We...we can have it refunded, right?" said Yuuri, now beginning to inch his way toward the hallway and out of the bathhouse. "And I'm not drunk anymore, really. I'm fine. Well then!" As he was about to run for it, Conrart caught his left arm. _Wah! Conrad's fast!_

The soldier-in-training held onto Yuuri's arm tightly. "You. Bath. Now."

"B-but…" It was useless to wrestle with Conrart. He wouldn't win. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't try. He tried hard to wriggle away from the brunette's grip, alas, in vain.

Conrart, annoyed with how Yuuri was acting, called Yozak. "Hold his legs."

Yozak did so, figuring out what his friend was planning. Yuuri seemed to get it as well, since he was now off the ground, and being held by the two like a sack of potatoes. "Wait! Wait! Alright, I'll get in the bath! Just put me down, please! I'm still dressed!"

"Sorry. Too late," replied Conrart. One moment later, Yuuri was thrown into the pool, still in his clothes. Once he dropped into the water, he immediately emerged from it. "Hot!"

The two then followed him in. "Serves you right," chuckled Yozak. "No one irritates The Mighty Prince Conrart. Why don't you want to take a bath, anyway?"

Yuuri didn't know how to answer that. "…um…" As he was thinking of another excuse, he noticed that the two were looking at him—or rather, at his hair. "Ne, Mitsuzaemon," said Conrart, "your hair…"

_Oh, no! They saw it!__ There's no other reason for them to be staring at my hair like that! It's back to black again! They'll probably hate me now for lying!_ The young king was panicking inside. _What do I say now!_ Thinking he had no other way out, he bowed his head and said, "I-I'm sorry! I will explain this! Everything!"

Yozak and Conrart glanced at each other, then back at Yuuri. The brunette continued speaking. "…Explain what? I was just about to comment that your hair, being a shade darker when wet, almost looks like black."

"Yeah," affirmed the spy-to-be. "And with your eyes already black as it is, you look like someone this country reveres."

"…" To say that Yuuri was surprised was an understatement. He raised his head to face the two. "…Eh?" _The dye…didn't wash off?_ He wanted to release the air built up inside of him, but that would make them suspect him of something again. "I was…going to explain why…I didn't want to get into the bath. Ehehehe…"

"I bet you just hate taking baths," teased Yozak.

_That is a lame__ excuse. Might as well use that. _Yuuri turned his back at the two as he removed his soaked clothes. "...You can say that," he muttered, loud enough for Yozak and Conrart to hear him. This caused Yozak to laugh harder and say 'I thought so', while Conrart just sighed and shrugged. The young king waded into the pool's edge and placed his wet clothes there. He then went to the shallow part of the pool, where the two were currently relaxing in.

Yuuri dipped lower into the water until it reached his shoulders. Even if the place was filled with steam, he got a good look at his reflection on the water's surface. Indeed, his hair, although darker, was still reddish-brown in color. He parted some bangs that stuck near his eyes. _Good thing the dye didn't wash off...but why? It's supposed to once I wash it..._

A few moments later, Yozak stood up and left the pool. He answered Conrart's questioning look. "Going to get some new clothes for him," he said as he pointed at Yuuri. "I'll ask some from the front desk. Old Rochelia must have a few clothes stored." The spy-to-be then slipped on his robe and went to the front desk.

There were a few minutes of silence between the two left in the pool. A bit bothered by the silence, Yuuri spoke. "Um, Conrart-san…?" Conrart turned to him and waited for him to continue. "Can I ask you something?"

The brunette eyed him for a couple of seconds, then replied. "Shoot."

The young king cleared his throat and continued. "A while ago, before we went into the tavern, you and Yozak-san were talking about some purists who want to drive the half-humans out. Why…why would they want to do that?"

"They aren't called purists for nothing," answered the soldier-in-training. "They are just proud pure-blooded Mazoku who feel dirtied by our presence. They probably want to 'cleanse their country'. How they're going to do that, I can only guess."

Yuuri got bothered by this. "But there must be a way to work things out, right?" he said, now fully facing Conrart. "Maybe if by talking to them, they'd understand us better. Then the Mazoku, the half-humans, everyone will be able to live together—"

"Do you think it's as easy as that?" snapped the brunette. "If words were the only weapons we needed, then this wouldn't have happened! The pure-bloods despise us. Humans drove those 'sinners', ones who fell in love with Mazoku, along with their offspring, away to barren lands. My father, wanting to give them a place to live in, brought them here. We all thought we found our place, so we pledged our loyalty to Shin Makoku. And look at what's happening now in this country!

"No one wants to do anything with half-humans. Even my own younger brother hates me because of what I am. That's why I want to prove them wrong…" Conrart trailed off. He sighed, then said, "Sorry, Mitsuzaemon."

Yuuri was surprised at Conrart's sudden outburst. Did his being a half-human bother him that much before? In the present, Conrad wouldn't have said those things and would probably just give a small smile. But that was probably because the times had changed since then. Right now, this Conrad wouldn't want to do anything more than prove the half-human's worth.

The young king bowed his head resignedly. "Un."

It was five minutes later when Yozak came back. He went to where the two were at, sitting between them, noticing the atmosphere between the two but decided to ignore it. He faced Yuuri and said, "Old Rochelia said she got some of her son's hand-me-downs at her house on the second floor. She also said you can sleep there tonight, since her son's out for the night."

Yuuri smiled at Yozak. "Is that so? Thanks."

—0—

One hour passed before Conrart and Yozak decided to go back. Yozak had a few chats with Rochelia, then he and his friend made their way out, Yuuri accompanying them up until the front of the building. Once there, the young king thanked them. "Thank you for everything, Conrart-san, Yozak-san. You even found me a place to stay for tonight. Where are you going now?"

"To our dormitories," answered Yozak. "It's time we go back there. Our instructors are definitely going to skin us alive if ever they catch us." He glanced at Conrart, and the latter just smirked at him. "Well, maybe not Mr. High and Mighty right here, but seriously."

_Dormitories…instructors?_ "Y-you mean you were supposed to be at school today?" yelled Yuuri.

"School? It's more like boot camp actually. It's a weekday, so that's natural. We'll see each other again tomorrow? Maybe you can tell us more about yourself."

"Going to cut classes again?"

Yozak shook his head. "Tomorrow's rest day. I guess for the two of us, everyday is. Well then!" He and Conrart walked away into the main road, Yozak waving his hand.

Yuuri also waved his hand as he watched the two leave. _Tomorrow, huh? I guess not. I suppose I'd be back in the present later, or when I wake up._ He sighed as he entered the bathhouse again and up to the room Rochelia prepared for him. _It was surprising to see Conrad like that. I wonder when he became more outgoing and cheerful…and how?_

He was too occupied with his thoughts that he did not notice the five men looking directly at the bathhouse and him. These five men then walked away, following the two young men who just left.

—0—

"What do you think of Mitsuzaemon?"

Conrart looked at Yozak, who had brought his arms at the back of his head, looking at the cloudless skies. "He's definitely hiding something, that's all I can say."

The orange-haired spy-to-be tilted his gaze to his friend. "Yup. But I think he's not lying about him being half-human."

"Un," nodded Conrart. "That's the one true thing he told us. And one more thing, if he found it awkward that we helped and accompanied him until tonight, I found it awkward that he trusted both of us that easily. It's as if he knew we could be trusted the moment he saw us."

"Maybe because we're also like him. Or he's just too trustful of others."

They were reaching the plaza, where even in the late night, people were still plenty, as such it was now. Yozak brought his hands down. "So, don't forget our plans for tomorrow, as we talked about in the tavern. And it's about time we run for it, since this is the best place we can shake off the stalkers on our tails."

Conrart smiled. "Five of them, huh." He briefly glanced at the back, and those five were clearly following them, not as discreetly as they thought they were doing. "Since the bathhouse?"

"Probably," answered Yozak. "I recognize one or two of them from the hair and physique; they're from that incident two days ago."

"Sure 'bout that?"

"They aren't gays who're after our hot buns, that I'm sure of. Well then," finished the spy-to-be. With that said, the two then sprinted into the plaza, and among the crowd.

The five pursuers noticed this, and they ran after the two, but to no avail. As soon as Conrart and Yozak entered the plaza, they immediately disappeared within the bustling crowd.

—0—

Two hours had passed in the castle. The young king still lied unmoving on his bed. Light outside was starting to fade; the sun slowly departing from its place up in the skies to the horizon, giving off an orange glow.

Wolfram changed his position from the foot of the bed to Yuuri's left side, sometimes holding the king's hand, or stroking his as-of-the-moment reddish-brown hair. "Yuuri..."

Murata settled for a couch placed near the windows, often glancing at Yuuri and then looking outside. Gunter had excused himself a while ago to immediately finish his tasks for the day and come back later. Conrad was still seated on the chair to Yuuri's right. He was looking intently at Yuuri, hoping in his heart that the king would wake up at any moment. As he continued to stare at Yuuri, something was tugging at the back of his mind, telling him that he had seen this person in front of him a long time ago. Conversations that happened in the past suddenly flashed in his mind.

"_W-well, he looks a lot like you…"_

"…_And stop calling me boyo! I'm already sixteen!"_

"—_as a new citizen of Shin Makoku, pledge to live the rest of my life—__"_

"—_some purists who want to drive the half-humans out—"_

"_But there must be a way to work things out, right?"_

"_Why don't you smile?"_

"…_he got kidnapped!…must have seen him together with us yesterday…"_

"—_just get out of here—"_

"—_too late, Conrart!...fell off the cliff hours ago…no chance…!"_

"…_dead…dead…dead…"_

"_Eh? Ah…well, my name is…I'm…"_

_I'm…_

_I'm…_

Conrad jumped out of his seat. His breath caught in his throat, and he stood unmoving in front of the bed, staring back at Yuuri's seemingly lifeless gaze.

This action got the attention of the other two in the room. "Conrad?" called Wolfram. When the brunette didn't respond, he looked at his older brother's face, and what he saw was a pallid face full of fear.

Wolfram stood immediately and walked to where Conrad was, and shook him. "Conrad! Conrad, what's wrong?"

Conrad snapped out of his daze and looked at the blonde ex-prince, a little bit of shock still etched on his face. "I…I'm sorry."

"What happened to you?" asked Wolfram. If it was enough to make Conrad, an experienced soldier, show signs of fear, it was definitely something.

"It's just…His Majesty right now looks like someone I met long ago. Someone I got acquainted with for a day when I was wandering around the capital…and suddenly these…memories, invaded my head."

At this, Murata turned his head to the soldier and said, "Is that true, Lord Weller? Maybe that was Shibuya you met before…but that expression on your face tells me you wish otherwise."

Wolfram then turned to Conrad, worry starting to build. "Why?"

The brunette paused for a moment before answering, as if thinking of what he was to say. Finally, he answered, "It was roughly more than sixty years ago. It was that time when a group of purists emerged, and not long after a civil war occurred. We met this young man just a day before that. He got caught in the initial confrontation, and…

"…and this person died."

* * *

6000 words! This was a long chapter! I just reviewed this once before I decided to post it, so if you find anything wrong (typos, lack of details, anything), please do inform me!

I hope it wasn't confusing, but I know it was kind of…trailing. Sorry about that. But I really enjoyed writing the tavern scene. (smiles)

Thanks for everyone who reviewed the first chapter! And to those who asked if Conrad and Yozak remember that particular time in the past, now you know. And probably you noticed that it wasn't a pleasant memory. The purists will play a bigger role next chapter.

These complications appearing, I'm sure the next chapter would be longer, if I intend to (and if I can) finish it next chapter. If the next chapter won't be enough, then I'll be adding an epilogue or another full-length chapter. Expect the next chapter this day of next month, or later, as I'm just inserting this fic into my busy schoolwork (I'm about to graduate college, so with the thesis and all…).

Reviews are always welcome! As are constructive criticisms!

Next chapter: The purists know who Conrart is, and they plan to use him to reach the Maou. But how to get the half-human prince? Get someone close to him, or so they observed the night before.


	3. Caught! Yuuri, in the Purists' Grasps

**Title: First Meetings aren't Always the First**

**Author: annadiel**

**Disclaimer: ****Kyou Kara Maou and all of its characters are not my property. The only thing I can call my own here is the story of this fic itself. And if you have read something similar to this, it's entirely coincidental.**

**Synopsis: Another run-in with the Demon Mirror and a wish that suddenly came out of Yuuri's mouth led him back to the past, when Conrad was not yet in the military. The two of them meet in a seemingly familiar fashion, but with a very headstrong Conrad. Will Yuuri be able to handle the stubbornness and pride that was Conrad? And will he be able to correctly pronounce 'Conrart'? Conrad-Yuuri friendship.**

_FUKKATSU!_

First of all, sorry for the long delay. (does _dogeza_)

It has been almost half a year since I last updated. I know the blame is all on me, yes. After Christmas break, I can say that I focused on my last months in college, barely finishing my thesis. During that time I had also been giving some of my time to write this chapter, but it was going on like 200 words a day, until I finally stopped writing it. It even occurred to me once that I might discontinue this fic. There were also these depressing events that kept me from finishing this chapter, like how, at first, my thesis adviser kind of ditched my thesis (but she still gave me a high grade once the semester was over, thank the heavens); and that my grandmother died just a week before my graduation. I also hated how this chapter went when I wrote it, and I was ready to delete the file.

Well, after maybe a month of doing nothing, I started watching the season 3 of KKM. To tell you the truth, I started writing this fic after I watched season 3's episode 13, and after that I wasn't able to follow the series until I graduated. (I was surprised to know that Lord von Radford is indeed a respected veteran soldier! It wasn't awkward to have him visit the military academy then, as Conrart told last chapter.) And now that I finished watching it (it was a great inspiration driver!), I decided to continue this fic, after all.

Finally, after several revisions, this chapter is here, and I can safely say that I can see this story's end concretely. This chapter here is a very long one, and it does almost nothing but build up the plot. There may be some scenes here that are totally irrelevant to the story, but please forgive me, I got attached to them so couldn't find myself deleting them. Te-he!

Since no one complained about how I referred to Conrad and Yuuri last chapter, I'll be using the same formula here.

Please read on!

* * *

**III. Caught! Yuuri, in the Purists' Grasps  
**

"…And this person died," finished Conrad. Those last words that came out of his mouth were laced with dread.

Murata leaned slightly forward, propping his elbows on his knees, hands entwined. "A civil war sixty years ago, you say. I've read all the history books in the Shinou Temple's archive, but I do not remember reading something about this civil war."

"It was a futile attempt on the purists' part. It did not last for more than two weeks," cleared Conrad. "And since it mattered only to the half-humans, little was written about this incident."

"So, is…is that person you're talking about…really Yuuri?" Wolfram asked, worried about what his older brother's answer would be.

Conrad paused for a moment, and shook his head. "I'm not really sure. Although that person looked like His Majesty, there are certain factors that make me believe they are not the same person, like the hair color. When that person washed his hair, it still had that brown color. Certainly that's because—"

"That person wasn't wearing any hair dye," Murata interjected.

The brunette nodded. "But I'm a bit bothered by other things, like how he called me 'Conrad' the first time we met, and the name he introduced himself with…"

"Which was?" the blonde asked.

"…Mitsuzaemon." The name was familiar to the soldier. _I've almost forgotten about him…and now he returns to my mind? Why now of all times?_

He looked at the sage, who seemed to have the same look of familiarity with the name, although much subtler. "What now, Your Highness?"

Murata leaned back on the couch, his arms now on the couch's armrest, eyes closed. "Don't work yourself over it. Though judging by what you said, this Mitsuzaemon does resemble what Shibuya might do…"

Wolfram became even more worried, and frantically he said, "So what do we do now? Conrad said that that person died! Is there anything, _anything at all_, we can do to bring Yuuri back right now? And Conrad," gripping his brother's shirt tightly, looking intensely at his older brother like his own life depended on the latter's reply, "Are you really sure…that this Mitsuzaemon died?"

Conrad found it hard to affirm that question. But at last, turning his head away from Wolfram, he nodded. "I'm sorry, but I believe so."

The blonde's eyes widened, his hands that were gripping Conrad's shirt quivering. Once his brother said that, all of Wolfram's energy left him. His head drooped; arms fell lifelessly at his sides. "I…I still don't believe you. Yuuri is a double-black. This Mitsuzaemon isn't. That's proof enough for me." He started to walk toward the door. "I'm going back to my room. Just…call me if—" he shook his head, "—when he wakes up." He then slowly left the king's quarters.

The brunette looked at the closed door. He himself was extremely worried. If the sage had said that that person might indeed be Yuuri, then it must be true. But like Wolfram said, from what he could pull out from his memories, Mitsuzaemon's hair was brown; there was no doubt about that. And, like Wolfram, he was clinging to this small fact that that person and Yuuri were different people. "Your Highness, can't we really do anything?"

"No. We can do nothing, expect wait for Shibuya to wake up." Murata replied. He slightly tilted his head down, eyeglasses reflecting light in a way that hid his irises.

Conrad bowed his head. Doing nothing about something, especially if that something had to do with Yuuri, was the least of his specialties. If only he could go to where Yuuri's consciousness was, he would. If only he knew this would happen, he would've looked closely at the Demon Mirror's surface just so he would be by Yuuri's side. But, like the sage said, at this moment, what he could only do was sit and wait for Yuuri's eyes to have life in them again. He sat again on the chair beside Yuuri's bed. "If that's the only thing to do…" He looked again at the peaceful expression painted on Yuuri's face. _Yuuri, please…wake up soon._

The sage turned his head to the window near him and looked at the mixed hues of orange, red, and violet in the sky. He then looked at the windowpane itself, seeing his reflection staring back at him. _A mirror only shows one's reflection, huh._

—0—

"Tch. They're gone."

The five pursuers were annoyed that their prey were able to escape. They walked out of the plaza.

"That was indeed the orange-haired guy we saw before." Two days ago, when they were going back to their base after they beat up a half-breed for coming up to them and berated them for something they apparently did, the orange-haired guy came out of the woods and helped the half-breed. He probably thought that they were already gone. "That guy must be a half-breed himself, seeing how he helped that guy two days ago, and now he's with…the filthy poser himself."

Nonetheless, it was good news for them, as one of the two definitely would be a worthy catch. That was definitely the half-breed posing as one of the royalty, formally known as Crown Prince Conrart Weller.

They had known how the prince looked like from detailed descriptions given to them by the higher-ups; apparently, his existence as a crown prince of the Demon Kingdom was one of the reasons why the group wanted every half-breed in the kingdom banished. Son of the Maou or not, a lowly half-breed should just stay as a lowly half-breed! The last thing they wanted was for some filthy half-breed to rule Shin Makoku; if that were to happen, they would most likely conduct a mass suicide first than acknowledge such a king.

Being in this place, the prince was surely not staying in Blood Pledge Castle at the moment; he was probably attending the royal military academy which was not far from this district.

"We should go back and report this to Sir Fritzgant."

The others nodded, and after reaching this agreement, they ran for quite a while, still checking around if anyone were noticing them, reached the public stables and rode their horses, and for an hour left the district toward the outskirts, took the path to the sea, went up where the path splits, and disappeared inside a decrepit mansion.

—0—

Conrart slowed down to a walk as he neared the academy. When he reached the gates, he saw a carriage parked in front of it. _A visitor?_ He entered the building, and was about to go straight to his quarters when someone called him. "Conrart!"

The brunette turned around to the speaker. "Lord von Kleist."

Gunter wore an indifferent look on his face. "Where were you all this time again? Please, weekdays are class days, so don't go gallivanting around on a whim."

"I already proved that I do not have anything more to learn in swordplay," replied Conrart coldly. "Is that all?"

The sword instructor's expression changed into one of slight surprise at the words the prince told him, but he immediately shook his head. "Actually, no. I'm sure you saw the carriage out front. Her Majesty came to see you again; she's waiting in the reception hall. I was reminding her that it was already dark outside, and that she needed to return to the castle as soon as possible, but she insisted on seeing you tonight…"

"Then you'll have to excuse me." The soldier-in-training then walked past Gunter and proceeded to the reception hall. The instructor sighed, and went to his study.

Once in front of the hall, Conrart knocked on the door. A woman's voice, unmistakably his mother's, spoke from inside. "Come in."

The brunette opened the door and proceeded inside. Queen Cäcilie was seated on the long couch placed near the fireplace. She greeted her second son with a smile. "Conrart, good evening." She wasn't alone, though, like he expected her to be; beside her was someone he least expected to be there.

Conrart returned her greeting. "Good evening, Mother." He glanced at the other occupant. "Wolfram."

The last one addressed, Crown Prince Wolfram von Bielefeld, glared at Conrart and turned his gaze away abruptly. Conrart ignored this, and he went near the two, sitting on the opposite couch. "What has brought you here?"

"Nothing, really," answered Cheri. "We weren't able to talk properly the last time, so I waited today for your return."

"My apologies," said Conrart, "if you have waited for me for so long—"

Wolfram gave a snide smirk. "Heh! As always, your manners are lacking, Weller. Making Mother wait even for a minute is disrespect. As I expected your kind to be like—"

"Wolfram!" reprimanded the queen. "Don't say such things. Conrart is your elder brother, you should also show him some respect—"

The blonde prince stood up, then looked sternly at Conrart. "I don't remember having a half-breed as my brother!"

Likewise, Conrart looked at Wolfram in the eye, although indifferently. Wolfram, unable to keep the gaze, started to leave the room. "Please excuse me, Mother. I can't stand to breathe the same air that he does; it's suffocating me. I'll be waiting outside."

"Wait, Wolfram!" called Cheri but her youngest son was already out of the room, slamming the door close.

The queen stared at the door, and sighed. She then turned to Conrart. "I'm sorry about that, Conrart."

"Don't worry, Mother. I've become used to his actions." Ever since Wolfram found out about Conrart's father, Dan Hiri's origin, he started to become hostile toward his 'Little Big Brother', and even stopped acknowledging him as his brother, saying that he felt 'betrayed' by him.

"That's not something you should get used to," replied Cheri. "Whatever may happen, and whatever Wolfram or others say, there's no denying that the two of you will always be brothers."

The brunette sighed. "I am still surprised that he came with you today. I never expected the day he would set foot in this place, with me still in here."

"It's actually a visit to the Spitzweg territory. Brother insisted I go and see what's happening there now. I persuaded Wolfram to accompany me, which he did," answered the queen. "On the way back to the castle, however, I told him that we'd pay you a visit. Again, incognito."

"Which he totally went against, I presume," added Conrart.

Cheri chuckled. "You really know your brothers, don't you? But of course, no one disobeys the Maou. So he told me that he would wait in the carriage, but I insisted he come inside. And then, this happened." The smile on her lips disappeared.

"I'm glad that you go out of your way to see me, but you are the ruler of this country. Please refrain from just coming and going as you please."

Cheri's lips formed another smile. "_Ara_, that coming from someone who leaves the academy during school hours and does as he pleases." Conrart frowned, which made his mother laugh. "You give Lord von Kleist a hard time, don't you? Don't worry; I'll do as you say once you do that yourself. Anyway, how's your day?"

"Oh, nothing interesting…except for one. There was this…strange boy that Yozak and I met earlier in town, only six years younger than Wolfram. It turns out that he just came to Shin Makoku for the first time. He's also a half-human."

"A new friend, I assume."

"Not quite…yet. Until he tells me who he really is, right now he's just another half-human boy I happened to stumble upon."

The two became silent for a while. After a minute, the queen spoke. "Ne, Conrart, I know you're already aware of the presence of the purists, and I've told you about them last time."

Conrart became attentive once he heard the word 'purists'. "…Yes. What about them?"

"Recently, they've become more active. There were reports about their activities around the land, ranging from as simple as bullying to as grave as pillaging a small town mostly populated with humans and half-bloods. These activities are everywhere; they're becoming hard to control, and we still can't pinpoint where they are concentrated. We're still trying very hard to hide their existence from the greater public to lessen strife, but if this continues… We do have a few suspects regarding the leader of this group. Most of them are conservative nobles, and some rich influential Mazoku: there is Avery von Roshvall, Filo von Gyllenhaal, the art dealer Matthias Eigen, the well-known merchant Ewan Meierdort, to name some. All of them have had a few bad history regarding half-human relations. Currently they are being investigated."

"I see…" As those words left his mouth, something else entered his mind, making him stop mid-sentence, staring blankly ahead.

This action did not escape Cheri. "Conrart, what's wrong? Did something already happen here?"

"…Oh, nothing. I was just reminded of something."

Cheri didn't seem convinced, but accepted Conrart's explanation anyway. "I know how much this issue has been affecting you. Just…please, do not push yourself too hard. Don't make any hasty decisions or actions."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know that, too. But what I'm saying is not just for your sake. It's for the sake of those around you as well." Cheri stood up, so did Conrart out of courtesy. "We should be going back to the castle; the night is becoming deep, and Wolfram must be bored by now."

The two walked toward the door. Conrart bid his mother farewell before she went out of the room. "Shall I accompany you back to the carriage?"

"No need. You should rest now."

"Take good care of yourself, Mother. Please say that as well to Wolfram."

"I will. Goodnight. We'll see each other again sometime."

—0—

As Cheri closed the door behind her, she saw her third son beside it, his back against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. She was a bit surprised by this. "Wolfram. I thought you were waiting in the carriage…Were you, by any chance, listening to us?"

A slight blush crept up on Wolfram's cheeks. "O-of course not! What reason do I have to do that? I was only waiting for you to come out so I can accompany you back to the carriage." The blonde prince walked next to his mother. "We're going back now, right?"

"Right!" Cheri replied, cheerfully. The two of them walked toward the front gates. "Oh, by the way, Conrart wanted me to say something to you."

Wolfram frowned. "I'm sorry but I don't want to hear it."

Cheri ignored him and went on. "Hn-hnn." She grinned. "He said, 'Take good care of yourself.' Isn't that thoughtful of him?" She looked closely at her son's reaction. The latter's head was bowed down, eyes hidden by his hair, but a shade of pink was noticeable on his cheeks. They stopped in front of the carriage as the door was opened for them. "You're really not honest with yourself, Wolf!"

"Stop teasing me, please!" shouted the prince. He added, to himself mostly, "…right now, the one who needs to take better care is him…"

"Huh? Did you say something, Wolfram?"

"…Nothing, Mother." They then went inside the carriage, after which it moved along the path back to the castle.

—0—

Conrart was lying on his bed in his quarters. _Rest day tomorrow, huh. I guess not, for me._

He was supposed to meet Yozak tomorrow in front of the tavern, to conduct an investigation of their own about the purists.

_—0—_

"_Like I said a while ago," told Yozak, a grin forming on his mouth, "I happened to stumble upon those 'bullies' when I was taking what I want to dub as my 'secret solo adventure and perils in the woods'. I was coming out of the woods when I heard their yelling. They beat poor Davis out of shape, then left. Of course, I was hiding behind the trees when that happened. As soon as they were out of sight, I helped Davis up and brought him to a healer I'm friends with. I'm sure I reported what happened, though I don't know if the officials took it seriously. Since we aren't hearing something about it from others, I guess they didn't."_

_Conrart brought his spork down. "You're sure they took the path to the sea?" His friend nodded, then drank some ale._

"_They went that way alright, I just don't know if they went all the way there," replied Yozak as soon as the mug's edge left his lips. "Who knows; maybe they came back as soon as we reached town."_

_Conrart nodded slightly to that. As he was about to drink, his friend's next words apparently made him pause. "Ne, Conrart, what about we go down the path to the sea and find out what's in there?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You know what I mean." Yozak's voice became softer, obviously not wanting anyone but his friend to hear what he was about to say, even though the noise made by the other guys in the tavern were enough to drown his own voice. "The existence of the purists isn't that publicly known yet in this area. Those guys won't say any words like 'disappear' and 'your kind will be out of these lands soon' if they didn't know anything about the purists, or if they aren't part of this group of purists themselves. I asked around about that path to the sea; it's not really a path I take. They say that it splits into two; one straight for the sea, and one going upwards a cliff. Apparently, there's an old, deserted mansion there, overlooking the sea, sitting near the high, sharp cliffs, reportedly the best place to end your life, since everyone that fell from there either died because their bodies got smashed or impaled by the rocks below, or were washed off by the sea, never to be seen again."_

"_And because those guys took that path, you say that there must be something going on in that old mansion. That kind of thinking is…simple, even for you, Yozak."_

_Yozak frowned. "C'mon! It won't hurt to see. If I'm wrong, then no worries. But what if, even if it's only 0.001%, I'm right? It seems that the land where that old mansion stands on belongs to the Fritzgant family, although it has been left untouched and unguarded for some time now. Maybe the purists thought that the mansion was a good place to hide, because of its infamous reputation."_

"_Or whoever thought of that is plain stupid," added the brunette. Before Yozak could retort, he continued, "Well, it's not like I have something else to do tomorrow. Might as well take that 0.001% chance you have and see this matter to its end."_

_The orange-haired spy-to-be's eyes lighted up. "Then we go tomorrow?" He didn't wait for his friend's reply as he resumed, "Great! Meet me here tomorrow noontime."_

_Conrart agreed to that. "Let's just keep this to ourselves for the time being, until we do find something out."_

"_It's a secret, then," replied Yozak. "And, yeah, this may seem out of topic, but I heard you got defeated by your instructor, what's his name…Lord von Kleist?"_

___—0—_

Conrart frowned at that last thought. The next time he and Lord von Kleist duel, he'd assure his victory.

He sighed. What his mother said a while ago, the suspects, and activities occurring everywhere, spread out across the land, as if hiding the center of everything. That event Yozak witnessed two days before. The 'stalkers' they had a while ago, and how, as Yozak mentioned before, some of them looked like the ones from the incident two days ago. And furthermore…

_The Fritzgant family is in good ties with Ewan Meierdort. And Sir Meierdort is one of the suspected leaders of the purists. But the Fritzgant family is known for their neutrality on the issues concerning human relations. What if Sir Meierdort, assuming that he indeed is the leader of the purists, had somehow persuaded them on conspiring with him?_

It seemed that the 0.001% chance of finding something out just incremented.

Yozak sure was good at getting the information he wanted; he knew where to look for information, he knew who to ask, he befriended people he was sure he could depend on eventually. Conrart thought that Yozak would make a good spy; he'd tell that to his friend once he had the time. Though he had to improve on the disguise department; his female costumes weren't that convincing.

The rest of his day tomorrow would surely be tiring. He decided he would take it easy first during the day, spend the time just doing nothing…

…or better, find out more about that random half-human boy from Echigo. Mitsuzaemon was weird, a bit suspicious, but nonetheless…interesting, that was sure.

He closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him. His first stop tomorrow: Old Rochelia's bathhouse.

—0—

Never judge a book by its cover.

Or in this case, never judge a house by its façade.

The old mansion looked deserted, when one viewed it from the outside. Iron gates eaten by rust, brick walls broken and brittle, inner doors and other wooden surfaces home to termites, a roof missing some tiles, a destroyed garden; whatever vegetation was grown there now reduced to nothing but dry grass. No visible light from inside. It was indeed very surprising to see this mansion still standing, as if it itself refused to cave in and be destroyed by time.

No one would dare come by the mansion, for it had a frightening history. It was built around six hundred years ago, owned by a Mazoku soldier whose name no one remembered, but his acts never forgotten; apparently, hidden under the mansion were small prison cells where the soldier held captive his enemies, or even his wife or children lest they did him wrongly, and starved them, or in the case of his enemies tortured them to death. The soldier met his end when one of his captives escaped; their chase led them to the nearby cliffs, and he fell down to his death, washed out by the sea below. All the other captives were set free, again by the escapee, and no one ventured near that house for a long time.

Three decades later, a wealthy merchant bought the house, and together with his family lived there for quite some time. But the following recession made them poor, and the merchant, not used to the life of poverty became desperate, and not long afterwards snapped; he killed his family, brought their bodies to the cliffs, dropped them, and followed them shortly after; by morning some of the fisherfolk found his body impaled on one of the sharp rocks below the cliffs. The land was passed on to a distant relative of the merchant, the Fritzgants, but it had not been touched since.

No one would even look at the mansion whenever they were at sea, much less go near it, for they believed it to be haunted with the souls of all people who lived and died in and near it. Except now.

A man was seated on the floor of the living room, other men not less than thirty surrounding him, including the five men who were at the district some time ago. A small candle separated these men, its flame threatening to die at any moment. The five men reported what they had seen in the district just a while ago.

The man was surprised. "Conrart Weller is in town? Are you sure it's _the_ Conrart Weller, the half-human prince?"

"Yes, sir," one of the five answered. "It was him, indeed; Sir Meierdort's description fit the person we saw perfectly."

The man, Gregory Fritzgant, paused and went into deep thinking. Gregory was one of the purists who were appointed in the near district; he was the group's acting leader. He was almost one hundred ninety centimeters tall, had pale skin, short wavy hair with a dark blue color, and deep indigo eyes. He was dressed in plain clothes, although he came from a wealthy family; a fancier one wouldn't really do where they were anyway. But a sword was strapped around his waist; for he was a proud and skillful swordsman. He considered his sword as part of his being. He was also blessed with an affinity for earth majutsu.

He had, for long, despised humans. He was told since he was small that the humans were afraid of them because of their innate powers. Fear became hatred. Hatred led to violence. Violence led to numerous wars.

If not for them, the Mazoku race, if not for the Shinou, then no one would even be alive by now. How dare the humans treat them as monsters!

There was also the abomination called the half-breeds. Anything of human origin or relations should not be allowed in their treasured land. But this… He despised Cäcilie von Spitzweg for marrying a human, and consummating this relationship for another half-breed to be born. Why had the Maou done such a thing, and worse, the great Shinou to allow so? He despised Conrart Weller, because of who he was.

Unfortunately for him, his family remained neutral to these issues, and just reaped what they sowed; nothing more, nothing less. But after some time, his hatred was seen by Ewan Meierdort, an acquaintance of their family and one of the influential figures in Shin Makoku despite him being just a merchant. It seemed that Ewan shared his sentiment, and was already planning for the ostracism of every half-breed in Shin Makoku, and later on the humans themselves. There were already some parts in the country where members had taken in. He was offered to be a part of this plan, and take this district, to which he agreed.

_Conrart Weller would be a nice gift to Sir Meierdort_, he thought. _The half-breed prince would be a great bargaining chip for the lives of all other half-breeds spoiling these lands. But how…?_

"We also saw him with some other people, who we think were half-breeds, too."

Gregory lifted his head when he heard this. "And, they were…?"

"We don't actually know them. One was an orange-haired guy, probably also a soldier-in-training. The other one was a redhead…we've never seen him around before. But he was together with the prince, and they seemed close enough. They left the redhead in the public bathhouse." Murmurs began to spread across the room.

Gregory then stood up, and said to everyone present. "This is a good opportunity for us. We must capture Conrart Weller, and present him to Sir Meierdort. I've heard he has a soft spot for his fellow half-breeds. Maybe we can use this redhead to lure the prince." He turned to a man to his right, a middle-aged-looking man of average build, cropped gray hair and brown eyes. "I can trust you with handling that, right, Ash?"

"Yes, sir," Ash replied. "We'll have Weller by tomorrow."

—0—

A soft light that touched his face caused Yuuri to stir up from his sleep.

A trickle of sunlight managed to inch its way to the room through the narrow window spaces left uncovered by the heavy curtains. He still didn't open his eyes, and his head throbbed slightly; events of the previous night temporarily forgotten.

He snuggled under the blanket, turned away from the windows and buried his face on the pillow. A little while later, he heard the door open. Distinct footsteps made its way from the door to his bedside; something was placed on the drawer beside the bed, a pull on another thing, followed by a soft thud.

Somehow, he kind of knew who made those footsteps. He heard those footsteps every morning, whenever he would wake up in his quarters and do his morning routine. _Conrad…? It must be time for the morning jog…_ "…five minutes more, please…my head kinda hurts…" He turned to where he last heard the footsteps and slightly opened his eyes, sight a bit blurred; he saw someone seated on a chair. He looked up to the person's face…brown hair, yes; it was probably Conrad…though it was rare for him to see his retainer wearing a different color besides light brown…

…Now when did he last see Conrad wearing light blue-green? "…Conrad…?"

"It should hurt, you being an inexperienced drinker," said the person seated on the chair. "And I'm telling you again…it's Conra_**rt**_, not Conrad."

_Wha…_ All of a sudden, the events that happened yesterday came rushing back to him. Wolfram running after him…Conrad helping him…the Demon Mirror…the past… _THE PAST!_

Yuuri fully opened his eyes, surprise evident in them. He suddenly sat up, and immediately regretted doing that, since his head throbbed painfully afterwards. He grabbed his head with his left hand. "Owww…"

"You okay?" said the man on the chair.

Once the throbbing had subsided, Yuuri brought his eyes once again to the speaker. It was Conrad alright; but his hair was longer, and his eyes showed…fearlessness. "Conrart…-san?" _I'm…still in the past? Why? WHY? _thought Yuuri, _I thought that when I woke up, I'd be back in the present! I've already seen Conrad in the past, doesn't that already account for something? What else am I going to do here? When—or more importantly, how am I gonna go back to my time? _

Sheer confusion was clearly etched on Yuuri's face, while he was staring at Conrart. The brunette took this expression as a demand to explain what he was doing there, so he said, "Yozak mentioned yesterday that today's rest day for the academies, right? We'd meet later at noon, but I thought I'd stop by here first. Here." He handed Yuuri a small brown paper bag.

The young king took the bag, confusion still apparent on his face. "…What's this?"

"Hangover medicine," the brunette answered. "I figured you'd have one after seeing your state last night."

_Wow, he even thought of that, as expected of Conrad. _ "Um, thanks."

Conrart stood up and made his way to the door. "Better wash your face and change," he told Yuuri as he opened the door, "Meet you downstairs. I've a lot to ask."

Yuuri got up from the bed once the door closed. _Ask…what? Geez. He's kind, really, but I really don't know what's in his mind when he has that stoic look on his face. I like the present Conrad better… _He washed his face with the water in the basin on top of the bedside drawer, took the clothes lent to him inside it, which were a pair of brown loose pants and a gray half-sleeved shirt, and changed into them, then went downstairs. _Well, better make the most out of this experience. Maybe I can try to make Conrad smile!_

He was greeted by Rochelia on his way down. "Oh, good morning! Mitsuzaemon, isn't it?"

_Uh, right._ "Y-yes. Good morning, uh…Rochelia-_baachan_."

"I hope you find the clothes comfortable. Yours haven't completely dried yet; the wind last night was a bit chilly. You can get them later, maybe by noon."

"Thank you, the clothes are fine. By the way, where's Conrart-san?"

"Ah, the brown-haired young man who're with you and Yozak-chan last night?" Rochelia nodded toward the front door. "Outside. He's waiting for you."

The young king then proceeded to the front door after giving thanks to the old lady.

—0—

"First question: tell me, _who_ are you?"

Yuuri almost choked on his glass of milk.

How did he find himself in this predicament?

A few minutes earlier, when he met Conrart outside the bathhouse, the older man bade him to follow, which he did. They stopped in front of the BearBee Tavern; at which point he tried to run away in fear of being forced to drink again, until Conrart cleared that during the day, the tavern served more like a diner than a beerhouse. Which was right; there were a few people inside when they entered, and all were just eating quietly. They bought the typical Shin Makoku breakfast (more like Conrart bought for the two of them), and started eating in silence, when Yuuri, feeling a bit awkward of the silence, and out of his curiosity on the younger Conrad's lifestyle, brought up questions like 'What do you do in the military academy?' and 'How's everyday going for you?' Instead of answering Yuuri's questions immediately, Conrart suggested that they take turns in answering each other's questions, so that there would be a fair exchange of information. Fair enough, the young king replied, why not.

And Conrart's first question got him teetered at the edge of his seat.

"I already told you, didn't I? I'm Mitsuzaemon, from Echigo. A half-human, with a Mazoku for a father and a human for a mother," replied Yuuri, laughing sheepishly. But deep inside, he was nervous. _Am I found out? Am I really that transparent?_ "Why ask that again?"

"Because something in me senses that you're not telling the truth. Are you hiding something?"

_Yes. I'm your future king, and you will swear to Shinou and to yourself to protect me at all costs. Not to mention that I'm the soul bearer of your late best friend Suzanna Julia, which by this time you haven't even met yet. _"Well…of course everyone has a thing to hide. Including me. There are some things I can't tell you; those are mine and mine alone."

Conrart stayed silent for a while, then answered, "…Point taken. For now I'll believe that. Your question?"

"Uh, right. So, how's life?"

"…Not really great for the past years. How about you, in Echigo?"

_That's a pretty hard one. Just think of how it's like on Earth. _"Okay, I guess. Managed to mingle with everybody else and act at my own pace. How about you Conrart-san, do you have a lot of friends?"

Conrart shook his head. "I don't need a lot, to a point that I don't know who among them I can truly trust. Unlike you, from what I can tell. Why do you seem to trust others easily?"

Yuuri shrugged. "I guess that's just who I am. I prefer to see the good in others than try hard to spot what's bad in them. Easier for me that way." He drank some milk from the glass. "And because of that, I got a lot of friends along the way!"

"Then why bother leaving your town when you have lots who care for you?"

"To see new things, and to experience them. And do something for my family, like I said yesterday. –Hey, you asked two times!"

Conrart shrugged. "Then ask two this time."

"Easy for you to say…wait…" The young king paused for quite a while, thinking of what other things he could ask. _Hmm…maybe I can ask again about his school…or family—wait, I already know a lot about them, and experienced being around them firsthand—so what? _He looked at the brunette. He was wearing the same stoic expression. _…Ah, I know! _He looked closely at Conrart, which made the older man give him a confused look. "Ne, Conrart-san," Yuuri finally asked, "Why don't you smile?"

The brunette was a bit surprised by this question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've never seen you smile since yesterday," explained the young king. "And I mean a genuine smile, not a forced one, or one that you give when needed."

"…There's no need to smile when there's nothing to smile about," answered Conrart, frustration subtly etched on his face. "And with everything that's happening now, I don't think I can."

Yuuri frowned. "There's always something to smile about! If you keep thinking of your problems, you'll just get too stressed out! Let's see…you can think of your accomplishments, your dreams, some fond memories…or just look at the clouds and relax, or tell the world that you've decided to be happy today! That way you'll be able to relax, and maybe put a smile on your face! Hm-hmm! How's that?" Thinking he just suggested very good ideas, he smiled at the brunette.

Who had a somewhat surprised expression on his face at the end of Yuuri's short speech.

_What the heck? _thought Yuuri. _Here I am, helping him think of something good, and yet there's still no—_

He didn't finish his sentence when he saw what he was waiting for. Conrart's eyes were focused on the redhead before him, his head leaning a bit forward, and his lips formed a very soothing smile.

"Wah! At last you smiled!" the young king suddenly exclaimed, "That's good!"

"…You, you're really a jolly person, aren't you?" said Conrart as he briefly closed his eyes. "Maybe you're right. There are still some good things to smile about, even though a lot of problems revolve around you. And here I was thinking you were a bit suspicious, but I guess that instead of suspiciousness, I should call it innocence." He looked closely at Yuuri once more. "Your personality is contagious, you know that? I have this feeling that wherever you go, you always leave your mark behind."

"I think I've been told that before, but in different words. Anyway, Conrart-san, you should keep smiling like that. Makes you look better and kinder!"

"You think so?"

"Un! If I'm not mistaken, you said before that you and your younger brother don't have a good relationship. Maybe if you smile like that to him, it'll make him realize how important you really are to him!"

"…Impossible. This'll probably make him more irritable."

Yuuri sweatdropped. _He's kinda right…_ "…Oh, yeah, why will you and Yozak-san meet for today? Something to do about what you were talking about last night, _eto_… purists, right?"

"…A little."

_Huh, I was right. Since I'm still here, and I really don't know what I should do right now…_ "Ne, if I can help you in some way, I'd be glad to."

Conrart glanced at him briefly while sipping his tea. From the look on Yuuri's face, he seemed serious enough on lending them a hand. He wanted to see how the boy would fare in those situations…but suddenly he had a feeling not to let the boy in any danger, and he was then reminded of what his mother told him the night before. "…No. You're just new here; you don't know anything about Shin Makoku yet. And I can't let an ordinary civilian be in any danger, especially you, since _we_ are the target of these purists."

"But you yourself aren't a full-fledged soldier yet, as is Yozak-san!" _And this time, I don't want to be in the sidelines. I want to help, even for a bit…_

"At least we are in training. We can handle whatever comes in our way. But you…forget it. You should best look out for yourself; find a job, a permanent place to stay in. Leave everything else to us."

Yuuri stood up, still trying to get his point across. "But—"

Conrart remained unfazed. "No is no. A mere civilian like you wouldn't be able to properly defend yourself. This time, I'll prove to everyone else that _we_ are worthy of existence."

The young king frowned. _What the heck? Here I am, wanting to help them, and he just brushes it off? Why? I thought that since I'm in this level, you'd let me have my way, help you some! Usually it's always Conrad who agrees with me…is it because he's not yet 'Conrad'? _He turned away from Conrart.

"Thank you for the meal. I'm going back to the bathhouse; maybe I can give Old Rochelia a hand." He quickly made his way toward the exit, frown still evident on his face.

_I'm not your king right now! And yet, why did you say those things, as if you wanted me to avoid any trouble?_

Conrart was a bit stunned with Yuuri's reaction, but quickly collected himself and stood up, following Yuuri. "Wait."

They stopped in front of the bathhouse. Yuuri was silent. Conrart didn't exactly know what was going on inside the young king's mind, but at least got the gist of it. "Mitsuzaemon, I somewhat know what you're thinking. I know you want to help us, maybe as a sort of gratitude, but like I said, you are just a civilian. Don't bother thinking about the purists. Leave that to us. Do I make myself clear?" Yuuri kept silent, head bowed. "Alright. I'll be going now. We'll probably pass by here tonight." With that, the brunette walked back to the tavern, leaving Yuuri still standing in front of the bathhouse.

The young king clenched his fists. _Why, even now, do you still seem to protect me?_

…_Even so, I would still like to help. No one has ever been able to stop me before, why should I be stopped now? I'll definitely, definitely, be able to somehow help them._

After he had decided, he went inside the bathhouse. _Time to conduct my own investigation!_

—0—

Conrart walked back to the tavern; it was almost noon. Yuuri's look was still on his mind. The young man surely was determined to assist them. _That kind of determination, where does he get that? _

He shook his head. Now was not the time to worry about such things. He should focus on his and Yozak's activity later that day. There must definitely be something happening on that decrepit house by the sea.

As he walked down the main street, among the other townspeople passing by, in one of the dark alleys he just passed were the five people who were in pursuit of him and Yozak last night, wearing normal clothing, behind a cart with some logs covered by a huge blanket. Conrart did not notice them, however, as the men were in the middle of the dark alley; the five men, too, did not notice him passing by because they were waiting for someone else.

—0—

As Yuuri entered the bathhouse, Rochelia greeted him. "Oh, Mitsuzaemon, back already?"

"Yes," answered Yuuri, smiling. "I thought I could be of some help in here, so I can repay you for letting me stay here."

"_Maa_, you're a good kid. Well then, I'm about to go to kindle the fire for the hot bath. You can help me, if you like."

"With pleasure!" Yuuri walked toward Rochelia and together they went to the heating room. The young king got the pieces of firewood left in the storage and placed them in the fire, while Rochelia fanned it. They continued doing this until the fire was big enough to heat the water for the large pool at the back. Rochelia looked at Yuuri. "Well, that's done. Thank you. Usually, it's my son that does this every time, but he's not yet home, so…"

"It's okay. I'm glad I can help," replied Yuuri. It was then that he noticed Rochelia still staring at him. "Um…is there something on my face?"

Rochelia smiled at the young king. "You have beautiful eyes. They're deep black, but they shine radiantly."

"Huh…" Yuuri had a confused look on his face, head slightly tilted to the left.

The old lady laughed at Yuuri's reaction. "Don't mind old me. I'll go prepare our lunch. Your clothes should be dry by now, too. We'll open the bathhouse in the afternoon."

They went outside the heating room and were along the corridor when the front door opened, and in front of it was a middle-aged looking man with cropped gray hair and brown eyes. The man entered the bathhouse, and Rochelia, who smiled as soon as she saw the man, went to him. Yuuri followed, curious about who the man was.

"_Tadaima_," said the man. "Oh, do we have a guest?" He looked at Yuuri.

"_Okaerinasai_. Well, let me introduce you two. This young man right here," Rochelia said as she turned to Yuuri, "is Mitsuzaemon. He'll be helping us around for a while."

"Pleased to meet you," said Yuuri.

"Mitsuzaemon, this here is my son." Rochelia went next to the man and patted his shoulder. "His name is Ash."

Ash extended a hand to Yuuri. "Nice to meet 'cha." Yuuri shook hands with him. The older man smiled. _There you are, Mr. Redhead._

"Mitsuzaemon here is a kind young man, you know?" Rochelia told her son, smiling. "You should learn from him!"

_Kind, eh. That would be perfect,_ thought Ash."Why? Am I not kind?"

"You're always leaving the house when your chores here are done." Rochelia had a mock frown on her face.

"For work, that is, mom!"

The old lady laughed. "Yes, yes, I understand. At least I won't be lonely now that Mitsuzaemon is here! Right, Mon-chan? –Ah is it okay to call you that, son? 'Mitsuzaemon' is a bit long for dear old me…"

Yuuri also let out a laugh. _Mon-chan…_ "O-of course! I'll be glad to stay here until time permits me so!"

Ash sighed. "Well, mom, you're starting to make 'Mon-chan' here your son, eh? And," he looked at the clothes Yuuri was wearing, "those clothes…"

The young king looked at the clothes he wore. "Ah, right! These are—"

"—Your old clothes. I let him borrow them," immediately replied Rochelia. "His clothes got wet because Yozak-chan and his friend threw him in the hot bath last night." She chuckled.

"Yozak? The orange-haired young man that sometimes comes here? Mitsuzaemon, you're friends with him?" _I see, so that orange-haired was 'Yozak-chan'…_

Yuuri slightly nodded. "Well…right now you can say we're more of acquaintances than friends. In fact, we're going to meet again later, together with Conrart-san…ah, that's the name of his friend."

_Hmm. So he does know that half-breed prince. Better to be acquaintances than not at all. Well then, let's begin testing that kind heart of yours. _"Is that so…but he's half human, right?"

Yuuri flinched. Ash noticed this, and had a feeling of success inside. The redhead replied, looking a bit disturbed. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

The older man waved his arms. "No, not really. It's just that I rarely know pureblooded Mazoku who're attached with half humans, unless…"

Yuuri looked straightly at Ash. "…That's right. I am half human, too."

"But that shouldn't matter, right?" Rochelia added. "Yozak-chan and I get along pretty well. And I'm sure with Mon-chan, too, from now on."

"Yes of course!" the young king replied happily.

The gray-haired man, while managing to wear a cheerful smile, had other thoughts. _Of course it does matter! No one with human blood has the right to spoil the lands of pure Mazoku!_

Rochelia then proceeded to prepare lunch, while Ash remained, with one more thing to say. "My mom's right about that. But be careful. Nowadays, I'm hearing a lot of rumors at work that there are people who're hurting half humans. Including in this district, apparently." He glanced at Yuuri, who after hearing his statement, had a surprised look, followed by concern. _If you follow me, it's my victory._ "Well, then, what do I have to do here today…" He started walking away from Yuuri to the heating room.

Yuuri was by then thinking. _People…who're hurting half humans? Maybe they're the purists Conrad and Yozak were talking about! Ash-san seems to know something about them. I should try asking him._ He started to follow Ash. "Wait, Ash-san!"

As soon as Ash saw Yuuri take his first step toward him, he smiled. "What?"

"_A-ano_… can you tell me more about those rumors? Who are these people, and why are they hurting half humans?"

"It seems you've already kindled the fire for the hot bath." Ash then peered in the firewood storage. "But we're out of wood…Oh, right, I was supposed to gather wood to bring here today. I guess I forgot." He turned to Yuuri. "Will you go with me to gather firewood? I can answer your question while we're on our way."

Yuuri nodded. "Sure."

"…Ah, wait a sec. I'm just going to hand this letter to my mother."

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." Ash wore a smile on his lips. "Just a message for one of our frequent customers."

—0—

"So, what do you want to know?"

Yuuri turned to Ash while they were walking on the street. "Well, everything you can tell me about those people."

The older man smiled. "Before I tell you, I just want to know why you're intent on knowing those things. Is it for self-preservation? To protect yourself? Curiosity?"

"No." Yuuri shook his head. "It's just that…I want to help a friend regarding this issue—"

"And that would probably be Yozak and his friend, I presume."

"—Ah, yes. So if I can tell him anything I can gather about those purists, maybe his burden would be much lighter."

"…Purists? For you to know how they call themselves, it seems that you know more than you're letting on. Anyway, you're right. Those people are known as purists, intent on cleansing Shin Makoku by driving out the half humans. They are dispersed around the whole kingdom, not just here. I've been hearing about many similar cases to what I just told you a while ago around Shin Makoku." They were nearing a dark alley, and Ash was walking toward it, while Yuuri, listening to Ash, just followed blindly. "There are, of course, leaders to such a big group. Rumor also has it that one of them is in this part of the kingdom."

"Really? Then if that's the case, maybe it's possible to talk to him!"

"Hm? Talk to a leader of the purists? What for?"

"To persuade him to stop whatever he's planning! Maybe it's not too late to convince him to let go of any hatred he has on half humans, that even if we are different at birth, we still can live together peacefully!" Yuuri smiled. "Ash-san, thank you for sharing those information!"

They stopped near the middle of the alley, before a cart covered with a blanket. It was then that Yuuri finally noticed where they were. "An alley? What's in here, Ash-san? We're gathering firewood, aren't we?" He looked at Ash, who was wearing an eerie smile. Then, a chuckle escaped his lips, followed by laughter.

"Here I am, thinking of what you might want to say to the leader, but Mazoku and humans living _together, __**peacefully**_? Are you sure that's ever gonna happen? As if!"

—0—

Yozak ran across the streets, well, tried to, with what mobility his disguise would give him, on the way to the BearBee Tavern. _I'm late! Damn strict instructor! Conrart's going to be pissed at me as well!_

He had to get into female villager clothing once more to sneak out of the school premises, since his instructor found out that he was out the whole day yesterday and was intent on punishing him today by giving him double the student workload. And he had to put on some light make-up to make his disguise more believable, which kind of irritated him.

He was about to pass by the same narrow alley, but by some chance happened to turn his head toward it, and he noticed a young man with reddish brown hair talking with someone at the middle of it. _Mitsuzaemon? And that other man, isn't he Rochelia-baachan's son?_

Curious as to what the two were talking about, and seeing how the other man was laughing hard and how Yuuri was looking confused, he quietly went in the alley, hiding behind stacked wooden crates placed conveniently a bit far from the two, but still within hearing range.

—0—

Ash continued on laughing.

Yuuri became bothered by this. "…Um, Ash-san…?"

The other man gradually stopped laughing, and let out a breath. "_Ne_, Mitsuzaemon, why don't you try talking to the leader? Then we'll see if whatever crazy thing you're thinking would come true, eh?"

"…What are you saying? Do you know where he is? Why would you—"

Just then, the five men who had been there from the start, jumped out of their hiding places similar to that of Yozak's, and began to surround Yuuri.

The redhead began to step back. He was still looking at Ash, sheer confusion etched on his face. "…Who…who are you?"

"Me?" Ash again smiled eerily. "I'm just…one of them."

It immediately dawned on Yuuri what Ash was talking about. "You're a purist—!"

Yuuri didn't finish what he was saying as one of the men quickly got behind him and struck a hard blow at the back of his head with the iron handle of a knife, rendering him unconscious.

The largest among them picked Yuuri up, took him to the cart and threw him in, covering him up with the blanket and some of the logs. Ash turned to the others. "It won't be long before the prince gets that letter, if this kid here were telling the truth. Let's get out of here and hook up this cart with the horses." Three of them were about to pull the cart, when the knife wielder earlier sensed a different presence near them. "There!" He threw the knife in the direction of the stacked wooden crates just near the main street. A person then emerged behind the crates, then quickly darted to the main street. The person was wearing a dress; a cloth hid the person's hair.

"A woman?" Knife-wielder said. Turning to Ash, he asked, "Should we pursue her?"

Ash shook his head. "Our job here's done. Let's head to the public stables."

—0—

"He's late."

Conrart tapped his foot on the floor, still waiting for Yozak to appear. It had been twenty minutes past their meeting time, and still no sign of his orange-haired friend. _And he was the one excited about this…_

Just then the door of the tavern opened loudly, and a tall woman entered, walking brusquely, heading straight for Conrart. It did not take long for the prince to notice that the 'woman' was Yozak, but as he was about to reprimand Yozak for being late, the latter grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the tavern. Once they were outside, Conrart pulled his wrist out of Yozak's grip. "What's with this all of a sudden?"

"We need to go! Just now, Mitsuzaemon…he got kidnapped! And those five men yesterday did it!"

The prince was surprised, then confused. "How? I just met with him a while ago, and left him back at the tavern. And how would they know that we know Mitsuzaemon? They've been following us since—!" _Since the bathhouse yesterday!_

Yozak nodded, as if reading what was in Conrart's mind that moment. "They must have seen him together with us yesterday, and apparently they seem to recognize me, otherwise, they wouldn't have followed us at all." He started walking briskly toward the bathhouse and Conrart followed. "There was another person besides the five. And if I'm not mistaken, I've seen him at the bathhouse before, he's Rochelia's son."

"Rochelia's…the old lady's son? Her son is with the purists, you say?" Conrart shook his head. "In any case, let's head to the bathhouse." He walked past his friend straight to the aforementioned building.

_That's what we're doing,_ thought Yozak. _But I'd really like to change what I'm wearing first._

—0—

"Oh, Mon-chan? –Sorry, that's how I call him." Rochelia was smiling at the two men. After being surprised by the suddenness of the two's visit and letting Yozak (who she thought was a female customer, imagine her surprise to see it was her dear Yozak-chan) change into his usual clothing, the old lady was then asked by Conrart about Yuuri's whereabouts.

"I left him here about an hour ago. Do you know where he is now?"

"He's together with my son, Ash. We ran out of firewood, so the two of them left to get some. That's what Ash told me before they left." The two soldiers-in-training looked at each other, Yozak giving a nod. "Oh," the old lady added, "He also told me to give this letter to you, Yozak-chan." She handed the piece of paper to the spy-to-be. On one part of the paper was scribbled _'To Orange Head and the Prince'_. "It sounds like some title of a tale, doesn't it?"

The two then thanked Rochelia and went outside the bathhouse. Yozak handed the paper to Conrart, who then unfolded it. It read,

_To Orange Head and the Prince,_

_Oops, was that heading too informal? My apologies, oh dear half-breed prince._

_As you are reading this, it means that Redhead is already on our hands. And whose fault do you think it is? It should have been you in his place, you know; but you're a slimy, slippery eel, and he was an easier catch. How unlucky Redhead was that he got associated with you._

_You want to save all the half-breeds in this kingdom? Can you even save one filthy half-breed's life?_

_It seems that Orange Head knows where to find us. We'll be there, and we'll save a seat only for you, dear half-breed prince._

_We are but your humble purists._

The paper found itself crumpled in Conrart's fist.

* * *

And I'm ending it there.

This chapter is so long! I was considering on cutting this into two, but I can't seem to find a good point at which to cut it, so there.

As I was reading the purists' letter on that last part, I myself got pissed by it. And it seems that even in the past, Yuuri can't escape his 'Demon King in Distress' role. He appeared in this chapter just to get kidnapped, again. I'm looking forward to write his reaction in this situation next chapter.

About the half-human-ruling-the-Demon-Kingdom thing, I'm just curious, does the whole kingdom of Shin Makoku know that Yuuri is half-human? Did they immediately accept him just because he's a double-black, with no regards to his origin? If they weren't aware yet, if most of them still held suspicions about humans, and suddenly they knew, what would their reaction be? …Hmm, I smell a what-if fic brewing…

A lot of you have already, possibly, speculated how this story will end. Hold on to those speculations for two more chapters. Yes, two more chapters, and an epilogue, and it's done! Two more chapters this long, probably. (I am fond of using unsure words, aren't I?) Just please don't expect me to update again for three months, as now my status has just degraded from student to unemployed. Seriously, I need a job.

See you next time!

Next chapter: Gregory Fritzgant hated Yuuri's eyes because they carry the Soukoku's color. A half-breed doesn't deserve those eyes… Conrart and Yozak arrive at the manor, but what can two people do by themselves? Yozak is aware by this, and he does something…

Meanwhile, in the present Blood Pledge Castle, the Demon Mirror started to crack.


End file.
